


Kintsukuroi

by Skull_Bearer



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers being idiots, Cannibalism, Canon-Typical Violence, Do-Over, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reunions, Saving the World, Self-Harm, Starvation, Time Travel, big time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 18:36:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 45,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19011547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skull_Bearer/pseuds/Skull_Bearer
Summary: The breeze falls, the air thins and Eddie is gasping, struggling for one last breath. It’s right there, trembling with an inner light, offering everything he’d ever wanted. Please, Eddie whispers to the dust, the ashes of the ones he’d loved. Please.Nebula turns, sees him. “Eddie!” She shouts, but it’s too late, and Eddie’s hand closes around the Time Stone.At the end of the world, Eddie gets a second chance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Whew, this was one of the hardest fics I've ever written. Thanks to Dogmatix for the beta read, and to the lovely Fluffeh Penguin and Kimiko for the art!
> 
> Because every fandom needs a Harry Potter style do-over fic.
> 
> Kimiko's art is posted here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19010869
> 
> Fluffeh Penguin's posted here;https://archiveofourown.org/works/19013194

_There_.

The slope is shallow, but the air cuts Eddie’s throat. His lungs spasm inside his chest, flapping like wounded birds. He stumbles, crashing down to his knees and panting, stars blinking out behind his eyes. His spear sinking deep into the filth crusting the ground.

The grass crinkles around him, brown paper stems crumbling when he brushes against them. Breathing feels like sucking air through a straw; his heart pounds deafeningly in his ears. He digs his fingers into the ground and it crumbles, little more than sand.

He gets his legs up under him, stands up and his head spins. The world wavers around him, a blur of grey-brown, dust and ash.

_Ash_.

Eddie doubles over and oh _oh_ it hurts. Like a spear through his heart, an artery pulled loose and spilling blood and ice water through him. Ash. Sticky and clinging to his hands, his face, coating the inside his mouth and in his lungs _he can taste him_ nononono-

The world falls apart around him, fragments like broken glass and he’s staggering down again. Clawing the earth until he finally loses his balance and crumples to the ground. It hurts. It’s hurt for more than a year and it- it never stops. Like there's a hand locked around his heart, squeezing and squeezing and squeezing until he’s always just about to die from the pain of it. The bond, shattered open and bleeding psychic pain endlessly.

His body aches. His bones feel too heavy to move. God, please let it stop. Let him just lie here, close his eyes and- sleep. He’s so cold, aching and stiff all over and- it hurts. It all hurts so much. Surely he can just, stop now? It’s been too much, too long, please-

“Get up!” It splits the suffocating silence. He’s grabbed by the back of his neck, hauled upright. “Move!”

The world is wavering, uncertain. Nebula’s face is a featureless snarl; she shoves him up the slope. He stumbles, leans on his spear to keep his balance. “Go! Are you going to give up now, you coward? Move!”

She’s still standing, she’s still moving. Burning with rage in a world where fires now only flicker and go out. Eddie closes his eyes, tries to reach for that anger inside him and- it’s a dying ember now. It had been more once. The world had been more once. He had been.

He looks down at the clenched bones of his hands, the knotted scars running down both arms. He runs his fingers along the long grooves torn into the flesh. **_Eddie_ -** the ghost of a scream, still ringing through his bones a year later; the claws, digging into his arms. **_No_!**

The anger flickers, and sputters out. The words fade, have faded little by little until he’s starting to forget his voice. The fury long dead to hopeless ashes and he just wants to- give up. Sink down into the dust and wreckage of a dead world and- no more. Stop, please.

He lowers his head, drags in a breath, two, three. Nebula snarls behind him, pushing him forwards, up. Up the last slope, the faint sunlight filtering through the fleeting clouds.

Then it falls on the figure before them and the anger rises up in a pillar of flame; swallowing the pain bleeding through his mind, his racked, ruined body. The last blazing defiance at the end of the world.

The great bulk doesn’t move, highlighted in tarnished gold, shadowed in the falling flakes. The dust of billions of living creatures. Billions, and just one, the ash clinging to Eddie’s skin, clotting in the open wounds running red-purple down his arms.

Eddie drags in a ragged, bleeding breath, and screams. It’s thin and too high, swallowed in the eternally falling ash, the vanishing oxygen. It’s enough to make the thing raise its head, more blue than purple, more grey than either. The huge mouth twists in a mocking smile.

Eddie jerks forwards, tries to run but can’t push himself into more than a stagger. Every step jars his bones; the ash is so heavy he’s almost wading through it. The figure stands, huge and hulking against the fading light.

He’d been here before, once. He’d had claws, and teeth, air burning through him and an army at his back. He’d been _them_.

The figure laughs. It had laughed then too, deep and raucous and mocking. Now it’s thin, scrabbling in the empty air for purchase. Eddie drags a ragged breath, tastes ash, burning, the scream burning over and over in his head, the claws tearing his arms open, the bond shattering to broken glass inside him. Burning. Ash. Eddie screams and hurls himself at this- _thing._ This murderer. Of this world and every world and everything inside Eddie worth loving.

He’s running now, his worn joints jerking to life, his body numb to pain. Howling, a trellis of a human being, the spear raised to strike and _hurt_ and _kill it kill it oh please kill it_ -

It’s thinner than it was, the one gauntleted hand clenched, squeezing the last of the oxygen from the air. The armor is gone, the massed army. They might be the last two truly living things in the world.

It sneers, one hand raised to swat him away- but it’s too tired, half drowning in the carbon dioxide choking the world. Just a heartbeat too slow and Eddie’s spear sinks deep and deeper into its side. It grunts; stumbles and hot blood bursts over Eddie’s hands, runs in rivulets down the deep scars carved into his arms.

Blood on his hands, their claws. Sinking between their teeth and Eddie screams again- but his lungs are empty and there’s nothing but a thin gasp from his exhausted throat. He throws whatever weight he has left against the spear, driving it in, through liver and stomach and up into whatever heart this thing can lay claim to-

It cries out, blood splattering from its lips. Raises the gauntlet and-

And the world unravels in a burst of green. The blood sucked back into the monstrous body, the spear jerking loose; forced out back out with such force the butt rams Eddie in the stomach. _No_ \- he doesn’t have the air for the cry. Helpless, bared teeth. Blunt and worthless. _Please_ -

There isn’t a scratch on the thing’s body. It smiles with yellowing teeth at Eddie, “The best of you is dead, empty one.” It pants.

And it closes its gauntleted hand around Eddie’s neck.

And for a moment there is the sun again, and the air is thick and heavy as a blanket. He’s held close, warm and _whole_ for one last heartbeat as this thing’s fingers clenches on their throat. Then it takes them with both hands and _pulls_ and-

The world snaps in half. Half of it, falling to ash. Ash, soaking through his clothes and skin and mouth in his eyes and mouth and the endless, tearing scream _**NO**_ , claws tearing his arms to the bone until they too fly away to nothing. And he’s alone. Silence falls forever.

“No.” Eddie whispers; his lungs are burning, his throat bloody inside and out. The world is blurred red from his own blood.

“Yes.” It’s almost kind. “Now, one last question. Where is Stark?”

Eddie hurls his head back and laughs, thin and shrieking. His hand grasps at his belt, the tangle of wires and warm, pulsing light smothered in rags.

“Where is Stark?” It repeats. “Tell me, and you can have mercy. Tell me, and it’ll be quick.”

Eddie can’t speak, shuddering in the thing’s hand. _Stark_. All of this; and it’s still worried about _Stark_ -

“You want it, don’t you, empty creature?” Its voice is so soft, gentle. “Tell me, and you can be whole again. You’ll go and join your sweet little Klyntar, and it’ll all be over. Peace, forever.”

Eddie shudders and spasms in its hands, can only howl, laughing and crying and _yes_. God, please yes. Please, make it stop, but he’ll never see Venom again, a world of such terrible cruelty wouldn’t give him that mercy. Gone, gone forever and the only thing after this miserable _joke_ of a life is nothing. He screams, again and again until his head swims and his lips and fingers burn blue with cyanosis.

“Tell me!” The gauntlet tightens, the gleaming gold untarnished by the death of the world. “Where is Stark!”

Eddie gathers his shattered mind together for one more struggle, and pulls the remains from his belt. “Right here.” He chokes, twists the wires together and clamps it on the gauntlet.

The wires tremble, hiss and spit. The blue of the arc-reactor glows, brighter and brighter until it’s almost white, until the thing jerks back, dropping Eddie and reeling from the glare-

A _crack_ , so huge and shattering as to split the dead world in half, and the thing _screams_. Everything bursts back to life in a wild, heedless roar as it staggers back. Its arm is gone above the elbow. The remains of the gauntlet _thumps_ dully into the ash, shattering to pieces. The gems fly apart and sink into the suffocating dust, still glittering bright and vivid as lost stars.

Eddie lands hard on his back, his thin bones rattled loose from the impact. He tries to pull himself up, lunge forward before the thing can recover but- he can’t. His body is numb and dead around him, twitching jerkily towards the gems. His head is spinning, lungs pulling in mouthful after mouthful and _there’s no air_ -

The thing staggers, head thrown back in a desperate struggle to breathe, to suck in the last dregs of oxygen. Eddie’s eyes fog, fade and flicker, the hungry darkness reaching up to swallow him, pull him down into endless and painless nothing-

A thin breeze picks up, and suddenly Eddie can breathe. Colour shades back into the world and he’s on his knees, choking and panting. The gems are still there, so close, lights dancing teasingly in his failing eyes. _No-_

The thing tries to grab at the gems, but its arm is sluggish, leaking blood. The gauntlet is dust. “No!” It screams, “What have you done! You destroyed everything-“

“No.” The massive form suddenly goes very still. Something silver flickers in the hollow of its throat, spilling black blood. “You did, Thanos.”

The blade is pulled out sideways, almost severing the thing’s head. It collapses, burbling in shock. “You killed us all.” Nebula is still standing tall, more machine than living thing, unbreathing. “Half of all living things. Half of the bacteria in the ground, the algae in the sea. Plankton and plants. Everything.”

“Saved-“ The worlds comes in a red bubble from the thing’s lips.

“Saved nothing. You killed us all. Killed my sister, for nothing.”

Dead. All dead. Stark, hand stiffening and growing cold as he pulls the arc reactor from his chest. Annie, torn apart by this thing’s armies. Dan, blowing away into dust. Venom, _oh Vee-_ his claws in Eddie’s arms even as he falls to ash, in the last desperate fight to live, to stay, to be _them_.

The world full of dust, of silence. The last of them huddling together at the end of the world, gathering for one more assault. Nebula and him; they hadn’t the strength to bury Stark.

“No-“ it moans,  struggles to grab the gems with its remaining hand- but Nebula’s blade severs that too, the gems scattering across the dust and sinking down. Red, yellow, blue, purple, amber.

_Green._

Nebula lashes down one last time, and severs the thing’s head once and for all. It rolls away into the dead grass. “That was for Gamora.” She murmurs.

Eddie can’t speak. _Green_. It’s only a few feet away, glimmering so innocently, so promisingly, so close. He digs his fingers into the ground, drags himself hand over hand. So close-

The breeze falls, the air thins and Eddie is gasping, struggling for one last breath. It’s _right there_ , trembling with an inner light, offering everything he’d ever wanted. _Please_ , Eddie whispers to the dust, the ashes of the ones he’d loved. _Please_.

Nebula turns, sees him. “Eddie!” She shouts, but it’s too late, and Eddie’s hand closes around the Time Stone.

 

It devours him, drags him inside itself, explodes around him until the world is dazzling with facets. A millions, billion possibilities flying around him, too many to see, too many to look at. Eddie feels the pressure build inside his head like an ice-pick, blood running from his nose as the capillaries rupture. His organs swell inside him, taut as balloons about to burst-

He doesn’t have much time. He looks at the thing. The murderer. Thanos. The ruined body sparkles with a myriad timestreams, any one he could _push_ , shift and change forever. Yes. Eddie tries to find one, the right one. A searing pain and one of his eyes goes black, the other fogging red as the fragile veins are overwhelmed.

_Yes._ That one. That one there. An old war, on a planet so long gone no one can remember the name. A spear, thrown a little too close to a young alien who would one day grow up to murder the universe. A small push, and the spear flies true, spitting the child-monster through the chest. It falls, convulsing in death-

And gone. Nothing left on the ground but a skeleton long dead. Nebula recoils, staring at him. “You-“

“Yes.” The words come heavy with blood, and the world darkens forever as his other eye vanishes, liquid running hot and thick down his cheeks. He doesn’t let go, the stone cutting into his hand, too hot and too cold and burning through his flesh-

There’s nothing, senses shutting down as his body overloads, the pressure building in his brain until that too is bleeding, shuddering bursts of pain, flickers of thought shutting down little by little. A splitting pain in his ears and the silence swallows him down in triumph-

Eddie closes his useless eyes, the lids sticking on the gore. He reaches back in the fragments of memories. A year of agony. Endless horror rearing up so huge that it threatens to drown him-

But then he is through, reaching, grasping for the last few specks of light beyond. Before. A time before he was so alone. When he was happy _._ When-

When he was _us_.

The world drowns in darkness and green and green and _green_ like the endless sea.

 

* * *

 

 

The last threads of air escape Eddie’s lungs in a desperate cry, wounded and animal. His hands reach out to claw the sterile air one more time-

The _air_.

It’s so thick Eddie can feel the weight of it against his chest, soaking into his skin, veiled and heavy against his eyes. He opens his mouth and doesn’t breathe so much as _feed_ , teeth digging into the embarrassment of oxygen around him, so dense he’s almost _drowning_ in it.

For a moment, he can’t do anything but just lie there, panting endlessly as his starved body devours the air. He can feel it in his bloodstream, trickling through his veins and bringing feeling back to his fingers and toes. Then miraculously, the desperate gasping slows, his head spinning in relief, and he’s breathing normally for the first time in-

Eddie throws himself up, the world an incoherent blur around him. _No._ His hands claw at his shirt, drag at his throat, nothing but flesh, nothing but _him. Please no-_

“You promised.” Eddie barely recognizes his own voice, raw and rattling in his throat. “You promised!” High and wailing, a child’s cry. The bond gaping wide and empty; bleeding endless, suffocating pain.  He tears at his arms- even the scars are gone, his arms almost ridiculously massive. He’s gone, he’s gone, _he’s gone_. Torn away and gone forever, not even the wounds left, not even this last gift Venom had left him, that too wiped away-

Eddie struggles out of bed, but his body’s so huge and bloated and _alien_ he collapses to the floor. Claws at the floorboards, the world filtering back in veils of grey. The table, sofa, television, the dying plant on the windowsill. “No-“ Eddie moans, crawls a little way, then manages to waver to his feet, lurching into the bathroom.

The face in the mirror isn’t his. It hasn’t been his for five years. He digs his nails in the too-soft flesh of his face, lets the pain pin him back to here and now, blood welling under his fingertips. Gone. The huge, tearing loss rips him open, raw and overwhelming as the very first day. Eddie closes his eyes and sinks to his knees. “I love you.” He whispers, tears running hot and burning down his cheeks. “I love you. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

What had happened? Had the stone- not worked? Had it just moved him back and- no one else? Did it just move him back and abandon him here? Utterly alone, heart ripped open and bleeding out. Eddie closes his eyes and rests his head on the sink.

But the silence is gone, broken by the thousand little sounds of the living world around him. The faint, distant hum of the refrigerator, the growl of cars, voices filtering through the walls. Alive. The rest of the world, whirring around him, and him left eviscerated and dying inside.

In a moment, he’ll stand up, find the razor blade that should be in the cupboard and- make it stop. In a moment. When he stops feeling like he’s already bleeding out all over the floor.

A roar shakes the whole flat. Eddie’s suddenly on his feet, grabbing blindly at the sink for a weapon. A high, warbling scream follows it and Eddie grabs at his toothbrush, mouthwash, soap. The useless detritus of a world he barely remembers. The scream wavers down, rises higher, falls again and Eddie finally recognizes it. A guitar. It’s the fucking guitar his asshole neighbor used to-

Eddie stops. Drops the bottle of soap and it shatters heedless on the floor. _Please_. He turns and runs back into the kitchen. _Please please_. Hope is a white-hot brand he is terrified of touching, for fear of being torn apart, all over again.

His phone is on the kitchen table. For a moment Eddie can only look at it, piecing back together how to use it, then wondering if he dares. One swipe of his finger, and-

_October 29 th, 2018._

It’s like a punch to the chest, bright and dazzling and sweet as pure spring water. A week. A laugh chokes out of his chest. He overshot by a week. Just a week to wait before Dora Skirth will walk up to him, ask for his help against LIFE and he will break into the laboratories and then- and then-

Eddie’s legs shake; he braces himself on the table. The windows rattle with the force of the asshole’s screaming attempt at Dragonforce but he’ll never complain of it again, not after the silence. He looks at the phone, the dying plant, the lights outside and it’s suddenly so fucking _funny_ he can’t stop laughing. Everything, everything that would be dead in five years so suddenly alive. Trees growing in the ground and the birds outside his window and the _air_ , so heavy he could _bite_ it, and Venom- Venom Venom oh _Vee_ , Vee alive and lost in that lab and waiting for Eddie _just_ there only a few miles away and _alive alive alive_ -

He collapses out of his chair, bashes his knee on the maze of chairs and table legs and curls up on the floor, rocking over and over. The word keeps beating inside his head like a green alien sun- _alive alive alive_ \- and he’s crying and laughing and every part of him left dead and rotting a year ago is incandescently alive again. It hurts so much, life blazing through him, hope and love and after being without it so long Eddie- doesn’t know what to _do_.

It's terrifying, after losing so much, to have it back and to know he could lose it _again_ \- Eddie stands up, drags his nails over his arms, over and over, feeling ghostly claws in his flesh. **_Eddie NO!_** \- the cry shudders through him, a year ago, five years from now in a time that would never be. Never. To have now and forever- Eddie bites on his knuckles to keep from crying out, tears bursting hot down his cheeks.

Vee- he wouldn’t know. He wouldn’t remember. Four years and God, even messy and crazy as the world was, it had been good. Love, clawed hands cupped around his heart, needle teeth pressed to his lips. Warm emotions pouring through the bond like standing under a waterfall of pure joy. **_I love you_.**

He’d tell Venom about it all, Eddie gave a weak smile. He’d tell him everything, the thousand stories of them. God, he’d spend forever telling them, and making new ones together. Not the same ones but- different. Eddie lifts his head, smile growing stronger. Different. Maybe even- better?

Eddie gets up, electric. New. Better. _Yes_.

 

* * *

 

 

The world comes back, not little by little, but all at once. Venom screams- _burning burningburning_ _painpainpain_ _EddieEddieEddie_ where is Eddie? Where is the monster? There was- fire? Eddie is screaming, Eddie’s skin is shredding under his claws. That monster is laughing, hand raised, the gemstones glimmering on its hand, burning like newborn stars and he is _coming apart_ , falling to ash until there’s nothing left but the claws in Eddie’s arm and then-

And he dies.

Darkness, swallowing him down, the bond stretching and snapping and- nothing. Empty, hollow. Going on and on and on forever and no thought, no relief, cold and alien. Everything gone. Forever.

**_Eddie!_** Venom tries to scream, but there’s no air. No mouth to cry out with. Eddie- _gone_. Dead. Screaming as Venom’s claws tear free, helpless and bleeding before their murderer. Dying, vanishing in into the darkness and alone and nothing forever. Gone. _Gone._

Venom howls, tries to throw himself backwards- and hits a wall. Forwards and- it’s there too. Walls all around him, swallowing him, trapping him- he screams and screams, throwing himself desperately against the unyielding glass.

**_Shut up_** **!** The vibrations kick into his substance. **_Control yourself or by the stars, you’ll be fodder when we get out!_**

Venom stops. For the first time in more than four years, he has no eyes. It takes him a moment to remember how to see through his skin, make sense of the trace outlines of the world. Colorless and two-dimensional after seeing the world through human eyes.

He’s in a jar. And beside him, in their own jar, is Phage.

_What_? Venom curls in on himself, shuddering in shock. They _died_. Four years ago. They never made it out of LIFE industries.

LIFE industries. That had crumbled first under the weight of lawsuits, then burnt down some time later. The lights are on beyond the glass, figures moving in the distance beyond the holding cells. The doctor- the one Eddie’s memories called Doctor Skirth and- that’s _Drake_.

Venom’s liquid body slumps to the bottom of his jar, unable to hold himself together. _What?_ Drake walks over and looks in on the two of them, saying something Venom can’t even start to understand, the words washing over him in senseless vibrations. Dead. Dead- all of them _dead_ and still very much alive and _Eddie_ , oh please where is his Eddie it _hurts_ without him, half his mind scythed away and bleeding pain everywhere.

He turns inside himself, blocking out the world in his coils, trying to piece the world back together. LIFE industries. Phage. Skirth. Drake. No Eddie. He’s in a jar. This is- four years ago. Earth, before Eddie. Before the monster.

That monster. His murderer. _Eddie’s murderer_. Still out there, hunting, gathering its power, ready to strike and devour them all. And he’s in a jar and Eddie-

Venom laps at the edge of the jar. Drake is alive. Phage is alive. Eddie- could he be alive too? If they were _before_ , four years ago Eddie is- still out there. Until Dr Skirth would tell him about LIFE and he’d come here, find Venom-

Fear Venom. Think Venom is a monster. A mindless alien eating him. Venom sinks back down, moaning softly to himself. No- no- it would be different. He wouldn’t eat Eddie. He wouldn’t eat- the first host. The woman he had been put in. He would- help Eddie. Take down LIFE and find that monster and tear it apart before it could hurt anyone and maybe Eddie would- he might-

Love him again.

He doesn’t have a heart, and his body’s never known a human form in this time. But he’s been part of Eddie for so long it _hurts_. The bond wide open and blind, hurting in the cold. Drake waves; and Skirth comes in. Venom tenses, but she takes Phage instead. Something kicks in his memory- they have a host for them. Phage got a host before he did. Not by long, although his grasp of Earth time had been shaky back then. No more than a day. Then they will come for him.

Maria. That was her name. The woman who knew Eddie, who cared for Eddie. He had- killed her. He was so hungry that back then, he hadn’t cared what he had eaten. He is hungry now but- it’s controllable. But if he could eat something- humans can manage without an arm, after all- they might be able to get out. Gather themselves and break the glass, chow down on Drake and anyone else nearby. Escape LIFE.

And- and- he cannot involve Eddie. Not yet. Not with that- horror still stalking the galaxy, hungry and hunting to devour everything. He’ll take the woman, Drake, anyone he has to, get on that rocket and _find_ the monster. Tear it to pieces; end it before it can end them-

And die. Die again. Into the darkness eternal, forever. No. Venom shudders. He died once. Never, _never_ again. He will kill the thing; he will find a ship and come back to Earth, back to his Eddie.

Eddie. The bond bright and perfect between them, the warm cradle of Eddie’s heart and lungs, the welcoming pulse of his liver and veins. The shimmer-dance of his thoughts through his brain. The hand cradling him. The mouth pressing gentle kisses against him- _Eddie_ -

Venom moans softly to himself, sinks down to the bottom of the jar. There's a searing pain in a heart that isn’t there, tears burning in eyes he doesn’t have.

 

* * *

 

He barely remembers his shoes on the way out, throws a coat over his shirt and stumbles out. God, the _wind_ , the taste of salt and cooking and even the garbage and exhaust fumes- Eddie braces himself against the wall, laughing and crying helplessly. A few people look at him, but most just walk on. They’d never cared much before, when he and Vee had gone walking in the city, hand in hand and talking, and no one knew. Good, _good_ so good the two of them even if they had to keep it forever secret, the feedback loop of joy and love and Eddie stumbles against the wall, clutching his head and it _hurts_. Alone, so utterly alone with half of him missing- Vee- Vee-

No. He can do this. Just a bit longer and everything will be- better. Perfect. No ash. No silence. Nothing but them, Eddie and Vee, Venom. Just them. Forever.

It takes him a moment remember which way to go, two wrong turns before his feet find their way back to Ms Chen’s. Eddie can’t help but look inside, and for a moment he’s back a year ago, or forward four from now. The last gasp of normality before the monster came.

“Eddie?” Eddie jerks back to himself. Ms Chen is looking at him from the doorway, frowning a little. “Are you okay? You look awful.”

“Uh- yeah.” His voice tastes strange to him, raw and rattling. “Just- need to go now.” He jerks his head towards the newspaper vending machine and _yes yes yes_. “We’ll eat your gangster later.”

“What?” Ms Chen half gets up but Eddie’s waving goodbye, hand on the window to brace himself. He glances at his reflection and tries a smile. God. His face. It’s nauseating for it to come without Venom’s teeth, Venom’s loving face, and the smile just sort of- slides off, too exhausting to maintain.

“Hey.” Maria smiles at him and _fuck_ , but that looks familiar. Not Maria _\- she is dead_ _he saw her die and she's right here-_ but for the last year everyone left in the world had looked like her. He’d looked like her. They all had. Nebula, Stark. Thin, haggard and raddled, life clinging to every wrinkle, every craggy scar on their faces. Just over a year, give or take. They’d all died quickly when the air started to fail.

Maria’s smile fades. Eddie can’t imagine what he looks like right now. He closes his eyes, tries to pull himself together. _Come on. Not much longer, just hold it together and- oh god, Venom, Vee-_ Eddie blinks back tears, his hands trembling. “I need your help.”

“Shit, yeah.” Maria nods and shifts over, offering a bit of her tatty blankets and old newspapers for him to sit on. “Get in here.”

Eddie stumbles over, sinks down and shudders in a breath. _Come on, come on_.

“It’s okay.” Maria pats his arm. “We’ll sort you out, Eddie. You’ve got friends here.”

Eddie gives a weak, barking laugh. “Not that, I-“ He was a reporter once. He can be one for a few more minutes. “I got a lead. I heard something about that company-“ fucking hell, what was it called again? “LIFE. LIFE Industries. They’re getting test subjects from people here. Homeless people.” Maria stiffens. “I know you signed up,” he forges on. “Don’t ask me how, I know.”

“Need the money.” She looks away, tenses and- fuck, does she think he’s _angry_? “God Eddie, you know what it’s like, I can’t just-“

“I know.” Eddie turn, catches her hand. His own seems so huge and fleshy it’s ridiculous. It should look like hers; thin, nothing but bone, skin and cartilage. The edges of the scars tracing lovingly over his wrists. “I know, you know I know. I need to go instead of you.”

Maria blinks, tries to pull her hand away. “What?”

“You’ll get the money.” Eddie charges on recklessly. “I’ll even throw in a hundred bucks. Just let me go in. I can- expose what they’re doing in there. Keep them from hurting anyone else.” _Please please please_ God Eddie should feel bad about lying but he’s like an animal in a trap, he’d chew off his own leg if it’ll get him to Venom. _Please_.

“What are you on?” Maria pulls away, huddling in her duvet.

He’s scaring her. Eddie recoils, slips off her pile of old papers and lands hard on his ass. “No! Nothing I- I haven’t been sleeping, that’s all. I just need- I have to do this. Please, I need to get in there- _I can’t leave him_!”

The last rips out as though someone had shoved a hand down his throat and pulled his heart out through his mouth. Eddie cannot speak for a moment, shuddering. The tears well up uncontrollably, tipping out down his face.

Maria blinks, but she moves a little closer. “They took someone?”

He _can’t_ \- Eddie buries his head in his hands, digs his nails into his scalp. _He can’t he can’t he can’t_ \- He rocks backwards and forwards, sobs racking through him.

Maria puts a hand on his shoulder, and strokes his back, over and over. “Didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

Eddie nods as hard as he can. “Yeah- I- I’ve gotta-“ He can’t continue. A year. A whole year he couldn’t cry, couldn’t mourn, welling up inside him until he thinks he might burst from all the tears he’s swallowed down. “I can’t-“

“You might not get him out.” Maria squeezes his shoulder. “We all- we know it’s a risk. Come on, Eddie, they _hate_ you. Drake’ll make sure you won’t get out-“

“I can do it.” Eddie sniffs; swallows. “I got someone on the inside. I can find him, and get out. I just need a way in.”

Maria looks at him, Eddie lifts his head, tries to look determined, like he knows what he’s doing. He’s probably failing completely, but she finally smiles, and digs out a pile of papers. “You need to take these to the labs. I was trying to save up for a cab this evening.”

Eddie wants to scream for joy, clutches the papers to his chest, and manages to get up. “Thank you,” he chokes.

“I’m still expecting the money.”

Eddie digs out his wallet out of his coat. He looks for his cards, but they’re back home. It doesn’t matter; he’s got a good two hundred there. Probably meant for the rent, but that’s a concern for another time. “Here, to start you off.”

Maria stares, “Eddie-“

“I’ll make sure they send you the rest- I’ll have it left with Ms Chen-“ Eddie nearly falls over into the road, waving for a cab.

 

* * *

 

 

The guards leave him sitting in the waiting room while they make one phonecall after another. Eddie grits his teeth and clenches his fists and bounces one leg, then the other, overflowing with nerves and desperate energy. His teeth chatter, wordless hum to try and drown out the coils of silences winding too close around him. _Drown it out drown it out_. Not alone, please not much longer please come on please I’m right _here_ we’re _both here_ please where are you I love you please I love you-

By the time someone comes in, Eddie’s sweated through his shirt and hoodie. He looks up and- oh. It’s _that_ guy. Eddie can’t remember his name for the life of him. The bald guy who tried to execute him. Tries. Will try. Tenses don’t make sense anymore and the guy's _dead_ and doesn't know it and Eddie grins and grins and grins until his face hurts. “Hi.”

The guy is trying to smirk, but Eddie’s crazed smile is putting him off. He settles himself confidently, legs astride, adjusting his belt. “Give me one good reason not to throw you out.”

Eddie blinks; almost blinded by the flash of fear- but the guy’s smiling again. It’s some kind of stupid bluff; this asshole's deciding to play with him. “I heard you’re paying money for volunteers.” He clasps his hands, trying to steady them. “Something wrong with signing up?”

“Something wrong when it’s you, _Brock._ ”

And- it’s idiotic but that’s the first time he’s heard his surname for- fucking _months_. There hadn’t been any other Eddies to confuse him with. Eddie drives his nails into the backs of his hands, grits his teeth as the world wavers and threatens to fly apart around him, the cool, sterile light fading to ashen gold under the stifling sun, the noise drowning to nothing. His breath catches in a sob.

Luckily, that just makes asshole's grin wider. “Or are you just getting that desperate? Funny thing, no one wants to hire you when you’ve pissed off the most powerful guy on the planet.”

Powerful. On the planet. Thanos’ hand wrapped around his neck. Pulling. Venom screaming in his head. His arms shredding open over and over. Eddie looks down at his unmarked forearms, impossibly bare and naked and he drags his nails into them, over and over. He closes his eyes but the pain’s- nothing. Not even close. He wants to rip himself open, _hurt_ as badly outside as he is inside.

“Aww.” A hand snaps on his shoulder and Eddie jumps, half ready to sink his teeth in- but asshole is laughing, shaking his head. “Drake is gonna _love_ you. The great Eddie Brock, a fucking junkie.”

“That a problem?” Eddie manages, digging his nails into his flesh as though he’d fly apart if he let go.

“Nah nah.” He pats Eddie’s shoulder almost comfortingly. “We’ve got a brand new fix for you, you’re gonna love it.”

And Eddie slides off the chair shuddering and laughing convulsively. Yes. Yes. Yesyesyesyesyes- until the guy stops smiling and hauls him up by one arm, dragging him over to the elevator. He’s still giggling as the doors open, the woman inside him staring at him, wide eyed.

“Is that-“ Oh. Dora Skirth.

“Hey Brock,” the asshole grins at him, “Were you already using on the show, or was it only after you fucked up your life?”

Eddie shrugs, looking at Dora. A week. One week, fast forward in the future. At night. Just the two of them. She must have been trying to get hold of him already and the way she’s staring at him, when asshole’s not looking, is horrified. He was her last hope to stop Drake. Eddie tries to smile but-

But the world is slipping out from under him, time shuddering backwards and forwards like a freight train. He’s a week in the future, flying down in this elevator to the rest of his life. He’s got Venom in his arms, the first blinding kiss in the forest. He’s torn open as Venom’s claws crumble to nothing, the silence swallowing him. He’s screaming. He’s dying.

He nearly falls as the elevator shudders to a halt. His stomach lurches and he doubles over, retching- but he’s had nothing to eat for- he doesn’t know, and all that comes up in a thin, sour trickle. Asshole snarls something he can’t hear, and hoists him up harshly, almost pulling his arm out of his socket.

For the first time, Eddie wonders if this was a good idea. Not for him, he doesn’t care what happens to him anymore, but for Venom. Venom, who doesn’t know who Eddie is. Who might have liked him once, as a host, but he’d been- better then. Whole. Not shattering everywhere; scattered across the floor in a thousand pieces of broken glass.

He looks around desperately as asshole drags him through the corridors, eyes tearing through the darkened cells. Oh, he’s in here. _He’s in here_. Tears burn his eyes and- fuck, even if Venom doesn’t want him, he’ll be hungry, and Eddie’s a hundred and eighty pounds of good meat no one else needs. He’ll be worth _something,_ at least. Eddie jerks, tries to pull away, and asshole grabs him around the neck.

Eddie freezes, cannot breathe, cannot scream. The world drowns in panicked static. “Bit late to run now.” And shoves him through a door.

Eddie staggers back, thumps against the far wall. His hands snatch around his neck and _no- no- no please no_ -

The world filters back, little by little. A shadow falls over him, and Eddie looks up. “Brock?”

Dora is frowning down at him, her lips pressed tight in a blade of disgust. Eddie tries to swallow, he’s shivering all over. Dora sighs, and hands him a cup of water. “Drink. I need to check you over before I can clear you for the tests.”

Eddie drinks and- he hadn’t realized how _thirsty_ he was. He swallows greedily, holds the cup out for more. Dora sighs and refills it. “Get on the table when you’re done.”

Eddie takes a deep breath, the world is slowly settling around him but it’s- fragile. Eddie gets up carefully, edges back to the table as though just the wrong move would disturb the shattered fragments of the world around him, sending them swirling up to swallow him down again. He sits on the table, clutching the edge tightly to keep from falling.

“You need to strip.” Dora sighs, bending over a clipboard to avoid looking at him. She’s disgusted. With him, maybe with herself for believing in him.

“I’m sorry.” Eddie manages, peeling off his sodden hoodie. His shirt is almost black with sweat under it. “I mean it.” He’s not why anyone should believe in him. Not her, not Stark, not Nebula. Not Annie. Not even Venom. Eddie looks down at his arms, his vanished stigmata. Everything he loved and swore to protect, and they were torn away just the same, and Eddie was too _useless_ to do anything about it-

The world shudders, the ash burns in his throat. Eddie shudders and covers his face, curling up on the table. “I’m sorry.” He whispers, but it’s not enough it’s _never_ enough- “I’m sorry _I’m sorry_.” He wails into the hollow of his body, then jerks as Dora rams a needle into his arm.

“Calm down or I’ll have to sedate you.” She snaps, drawing out the plunger as it fills with his blood. “I’ll send this off for testing, but I doubt Drake’s going to want to wait for the results. He’s probably _over the moon_ to know you’re here.” Bitterly.

Eddie draws in a ragged breath, closes his eyes as she swabs his arm. “Any history of mental illness?”

He opens his eyes, blinks. “What?”

Dora sighs wearily. “Do you have any history of mental illness?”

Eddie waves at himself. He’s pretty sure he’s an entirely new diagnosis right here. Dora shakes her head. “Take those off,” she indicates his pants. “Don’t worry; I’ve seen it all before. What have you been taking?”

Eddie kicks off his shoes, slides his jeans down. He takes the scrubs she hands him, “Would you believe nothing?”

She gives him an unimpressed look. “From your symptoms, I’m putting down heroin. When did you last eat?”

Five years from now. Dented tins, rotting inside, the sodden labels peeling off against his fingers. Eddie shudders, shoving the memories away and huddling into the scrubs. “Can’t remember.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Bitter. “Well, hope the last hit was worth it. You know he’s not going to let you walk out of here.”

Eddie closes his eyes but everything is drowned out under the desperate screaming _need_ , something in his head torn open and bleeding for so long. A blade speared through his heart and pulled so taut he can’t breathe. He’s so _close._ “Please.” He whispers, tears pricking his eyes. “Please, I need-“

“Come on.” She grabs his shoulder and drags him out. “I can’t believe I ever-“

“Ever what, Doctor?”

Dora freezes, Eddie can’t move because there’s Drake and maybe that’s the last fucking straw because the world wavers around him, so thin and brittle Eddie’s terrified one of them will misstep and tear everything down and he’ll be- back there, in the silence, the ash-gold sunlight. Like this reality is just made of- of _paper_ , plastered too thin over the real world.

“I- might have watched his show, before.” She stammered. “I thought he was better than this.”

“Didn’t we all?” Drake shakes his head, smiling. “How the mighty have fallen, Brock.”

He’s waiting for Eddie to say something. Waiting, when the wrong word could strip away reality, turn them all to ash and crumble under the endless sun and everything drying and blowing away like insect husks-

Drake’s smile wavers as Eddie stares at him, shaking uncontrollably. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I’m guessing he’s been injecting everything he can get his hands on.” Asshole crosses his arms. “Fuck knows what he’s seeing right now.”

“Is this necessary?” Dora puts in, “He’s a wreck, and specimen A01 has been erratic today. I can send him back and-“

Eddie slams back into himself, “No!” He clutches to the crumbling world as tight as he can, nails cutting new red lines down his arms. “I can do this. I need- I have to-“ He has no idea what’s coming out of his mouth any more.

“You heard the man.” Drake pats Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie stares at his hand. “Were you trying to get inside, Eddie? Trying to see what we’re up to?”

“More like trying to get a bit of cash for a fix.” Asshole puts in; Drake frowns, and waves him over to grab hold of Eddie.

“Don’t worry,” Drake smiles at Eddie as he’s pulled down the corridor. “We’ll make sure you get a front row seat to my greatest work. You’re going to help me save the world, Eddie. You’re going to become part something so much bigger than yourself.”

And Drake is so fucking right Eddie starts laughing and can’t stop.

 

* * *

 

 

Venom stirs in the jar, back and forth, back and forth. Four years. They have four years to _do_ something before that thing comes back to Earth, every minute spent helpless here is intolerable. Phage is gone, probably eating up their new host, gathering information for an invasion that seems- pathetic and stupid, in comparison with what will come. He smears over the glass, over and over, wishing for his claws, his _teeth_. The desperate urge to _move_ -

Something is coming, beyond the layers of glass, distant in the corridor. Venom feels his substance tense, ripple. Bunch and ready itself for the desperate spring through the burning air to his new host. Maria had not been a good host, but she could get them out of the cell, and there he could try for Drake, or the bodyguard. Suitable but-

But not his Eddie.

He shudders, their bond raw and hurting, so much of _them_ missing. He forces himself to remember the last few moments, Eddie screaming, the taste of blood under his claws, hands tearing at Venom, slippery with blood. This is what would happen. They would die, the world would end, and there would be nothing but nothing, forever.

No. Anything but that. Take the memories, the four years of joy so bright and vivid Venom would never have imagined they could be real. Take them and burn them and burn Venom and half the universe as long as they take down the monster with them. As long as Earth is safe, and long as Eddie-

That’s not Maria.

It should be Maria, walking with her head down, Skirth herding her gently in the right direction. This is- there’s _Drake_ , and the bodyguard Treese, and Skirth looking furious and- and-

And Eddie.

Venom gives a cry lost in the vacuum of the jar, and plasters himself as tight as he can against the glass. **_Eddie-_**

Eddie’s jerking his head around desperately and he looks _awful_. Face damp and tear stained, drawn in panic. His eyes tear over the labs, room after room, hands clenching as though he wants to just pull the place apart for what he’s looking for.

Then his eyes find the cell, the jar, and he stops dead, almost falling over as the bodyguard drags him forwards, mouth moving soundless.

_Venom_.

He knows.

He knows _he knows heknowsheknows_ \- Venom splays against the glass, scrabbling against it over and over to find an opening, a catch- _anything_ he’s right there he’s _so close_ \- Eddie’s fighting against Drake and the bodyguard in a panic, hands snatching out desperately to him, clawing at empty air and he’s crying-

Drake is laughing, whatever he’s saying is lost, but it’s mocking. He thinks Eddie’s scared. He thinks he's trying to run. Drake punches the cell door open and Venom screams, every increment of distance unbearable. Eddie’s thrown into the cell and collapses, trying to claw closer but- he can’t. He’s shuddering on the ground, howling and- is he hurt? His mouth moves- _please_ \- crying so hard he can’t breathe.

**_Here here here my Eddie_** **,** Eddie can’t hear him, turning tear-blinded eyes up; pleading, praying. **_Mine, mine._**

Skirth is saying something to Drake and Venom snarls, slashing at the glass. Drake cuts her off, and opens the jar.

The oxygen hits like a benediction, searing over him as he moves. Eddie’s struggling to his knees and Venom meets him halfway. The explosive joy at that first, electric touch, skin warm and damp against him, the prickle of tiny hairs before he’s through, diving between the cells and through the bones and muscles of Eddie’s arms, the flesh trembling as Eddie cries out.

He’s _alive; t_ he blood pumping through the veins too fast, not enough oxygen for the overwhelmed tissues, his lungs straining against the spasming muscles, his heart racing and exhausted. Venom has to push against some half-hearted resistance, Eddie’s body new and not used to him yet. Washes tenderly up the river of sparking electricity flowing up his spine, driving up to his skull and the welcoming embrace of their bond, of being _them-_

Eddie screams again, exhausted triumph, trailing off in a sob. _Vee-_

**_Eddie_** **.**   It’s hard to speak like this, his renewed body not used to host-speaking yet. He pours warmth into the sparking, erratic brain. Eddie shudders, and some part of him tries to pull away, huddle in on himself when Venom reaches for him. _You don’t want_ -

Venom firmly ignores him, and dives into Eddie’s mind, opening himself to the welcome warmth of it, the love and bright joy and- and-

_I’m sorry_.

Eddie’s mind is a madhouse of shattered glass. Nonsense reflections and everything sharp and cutting. He’s fighting, watching Venom burn. He’s thrown back as the monster _laughs_ , not even bothering to kill him. He’s screaming in the dust, ash coating his hands, stuck in the weeping wounds on his arms, _in his mouth_ and he’s screaming and screaming and there’s _nothing,_ the silence rising up to drown him.

**_Eddie-_ **

_No-_ Eddie’s body shudders, _don’t look, please_ -

And he’s pulled away from the murderfield, dragged into a knot of survivors. Gathering for the next battle, the next attack. He’s screaming against the silence, shouting and singing and- anything, any noise to drown it out. Time blurring in ash, death, a rotting world. Clinging to the memories, the only part of Venom he has left until even they start to wear thin, until he starts to forget his touch, his voice. The air is failing, breaths coming short and fast, songs cracking and fragmenting and crumbling to nothing with everything else. The silence- spreading, drowning him.

The billions of bodies, scattered across the world in dust. The gleam of their last weapon, forged from Stark's heart. The dying monster. Nebula's blade. The green gem.

_I’m sorry_. Eddie’s body is convulsing on the ground. _I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I tried I tried so much and nothing- nothing_ -

He wants to join with him, wants to be _one_ but there are bits of Eddie _everywhere_ and not enough of him to wrap around all the pieces and make them whole. Eddie’s clawing at himself, tearing through his clothes and skin and crying. _This- I need- please I can’t_ -

There is one thing he can do. Venom wraps around Eddie’s brain, and blocks off the nerves.

Eddie slumps senseless to the floor, the world blinks out to darkness, no sound, no senses at all. Just them, wrapped up over and over and endless in their minds. **_Here_.** Venom whispers to Eddie, pushing away the terror of the silence. **_Here. Us. Together. Here_.**

A shudder, the crackle of electricity in their brain; then, trembling- _This_ … it’s not quite a sob; Eddie has no control over his eyes, his lungs. Venom is breathing for them both. _This… this is real?_

**_Here, safe_ ** **.**

_I-_  a burst of pain, like a distant storm _. You sound so real. I dreamed of this- it hurts so much to wake. I can’t wake up. Please, sweetheart, darling, starshine, please I can’t do it again please-_

**_Here._** Their heart is slowing to an even, steady beat. It hurts like a blade is stuck through it. **_Alive_**. Venom presses his mind to Eddie’s, opens up so Eddie can feel it too. The two of them, the pulse and whisper of Venom’s body, the thrum and rhythm of Eddie’s. The two blending together, learning how to be one again. So close there are no boundaries anymore. Venom.

The crashing hormones and storm of emotions in Eddie’s mind slowly calms to a ruffled stillness, a murmuring sea. _Vee?_

**_Here, my Eddie_.**

_You remember me?_

**_Always_ ** **.**

A flare of epinephrine, serotonin. Since they can’t escape through tears, Venom laps them up- oh, he tastes _so good,_ his Eddie. His again.

_Always_. Eddie echoes; Venom feels him press into their shared mind the memories of the last few hours. Fear _. Please- don’t go, I won’t be able to survive it, not again. Please, I want to die if-_

**_No!_** Venom shudders. Not that. Eddie was spared that endless nothing. It will never claim him. Never, Venom will tear death to pieces first.

_Stay_. Dopamine bumps up a little, and Venom starts to relax his hold on their brainstem, letting awareness seep back, but keeps their senses shut down. _It’s dead._

**_You killed it._** Venom agrees, then- **_You killed it_.** It’s dead. The monster, the horror. Dead. Gone.

_Not me_. Eddie relaxes back into his limp body, Venom sipping up the leftover adrenaline. He’s calm now, exhaustion starting to claw at the sides of their mind. _Stark built the bomb. Nebula cut off its head_.

**_You_** **.** Venom insists. The Time Stone glows in their shared mind, the monster crumbling to a skeleton.

_Okay, that was me_. Relief slowly ebbing through them, Venom feels himself melt slowly through Eddie’s mind, washing over the broken parts of him, wrapping them up, holding them close. _Oh please_. Eddie twitches, hands clenching. _Please, I need-_

**_Here_ ** **.**

_I’m going to_ -

**_Yes_** **.** He can feel it, Eddie’s mind slowly shutting down for sleep, pushed so far beyond everything it can deal with that he can’t hold it off.

_Don’t leave me_. Weeping, deep inside.

**_Never._ **

_I love you._

**_Always._ **

****

* * *

 

 

The world comes back crusted with salt, heavy in his nose and dry in this throat. Venom’s coils are wrapped tight around his chest, under his scrubs, his claws running slowly down his back, over and over, just light enough to scratch.

Not enough. _More,_ please. Claws digging through skin and muscle, down to the bone, scouring him open and leaving their mark, claiming him forever-

**_Shh_** **.** Venom murmurs in the back of his head.

“I need-“ The words crack his throat, dry as rags in his mouth. “I have to-“

**_Here, Eddie._ **

“I need to see you.” He whispers. “Do you know- how often I thought I heard you? Over and over, every fucking dream, again and again and I thought- and then I woke up and you were _gone_ and I started to forget _-“_ the tears come again, Eddie’s head pounds like a hammer. “Please-“

**_Not here_**. Venom nudges him. **_Drink._**

Eddie blinks his aching eyes; they’re in one of the cells. Someone's left a bottle of water by the door; Eddie fumbles for it and just knocks it over, his hands numb and clumsy. He twists the top off with his teeth, and drinks and drinks and drinks until the water slops over his chin, down his chest.

Then he slumps back down on the padded floor, head spinning and stomach threatening to rebel. “Vee.” He whispers.

**_Here_**.

“Don’t- I need- please talk to me?” He closes his eyes again, back to their private world of two. “I can’t- oh, darling. It doesn’t seem _real_ -“ His voice cracks.

**_Real. Right here, never going away. You’re stuck with us_**. Venom starts a sort of- soft static in the back of his head. A comforting hum that works out the awful knots of panic inside him.

Eddie half opens his eyes again, gazing out of the glass door, the empty corridor outside. LIFE Foundation. Right. They should probably get out soon, but Eddie is so _exhausted_ that moving feels a bit beyond him right now.

**_No hurry_** , Venom purrs, **_they left a few hours ago, won’t be back for a while_**.

Eddie wants to ask how Vee knows but- he’s done this before, hasn’t he? He’d been in Maria for a week before anything happened, and that something had been Eddie. Like watching shadow puppets of themselves, playing out their lives just out of sight.

**_You were early_**. Venom smiles against his spine.

“Didn’t want you to miss your ride.” He tries to smile but honestly, Eddie isn’t sure he could have managed to last out the week.

**_Eddie!_** The shock makes him start, fingers digging into the plastic cladding on the floor. **_No!_**

“I- a fucking _year_.” Eddie’s throat closes; he blinks and blinks again, struggles to drag in a breath. “God, just- _look_ , look at it! I- oh fuck- I wanted to _die_ , so badly, I-“

**_Look!_** Venom snarls back, terrified and furious, and shoves a wave of- empty nothing. A hollow inside them that goes on and on forever, falling for all eternity. Darkness, entropy, alone.

**_Forever_**! Venom shudders inside him. **_Nothing, forever. Never, Eddie! Never again, not you! It’s not taking you._**

“I-“ Eddie drags his nails over the faintly squeaking plastic covering the floor. It’s terrifying but- so was the last year; his mind cracking apart, little by little, without Venom holding it together. The shattering loss of his heart torn open. Pain bleeding through him like a phantom limb, more and more every day until he’d started looking at the deterioration of his body in relief. Welcoming the coming end with open arms.

Venom can see it, feels it with him. Eddie wants to pull the memories away but- that’s all there is, just wretched memories building up inside him until he’s bleeding pain everywhere. “I’m sorry.” He whispers finally.

**_Eddie?_ **

“I’m not- I’m never going to be-“ Eddie closes his eyes and pushes the memory between them. A good one, this time. Them here, a moment before their first joining. Eddie smashing open the glass, Venom inside Maria, fighting to get out. He holds up the image of himself, through Venom’s eyes. _I’ll never be like this. Never again_. No matter what happens, even if he can somehow heal from- all of this, he’ll never be that guy again. That Eddie Brock is as dead as if Thanos killed him.

**_No._** Venom shudders inside him. **_Not dead, you’re right here. Always my Eddie, always mine_**. He squeezes Eddie, around his chest, just under his skin.

“Might never get better.” Eddie says finally, the miserable truth he feels in his bones. “I might always be this-“ _broken_ , he can’t bring himself to say.

**_Then broken_**. Venom sends him a flood of warmth through his head, a bloom of pure love. **_Don’t care, love you forever._**

“You-“ Eddie can’t say it, not even in his head. A miserable huddle of _candobetternotworthitdeservesomuchmore_ -

**_Mine!_** Venom snarls, and there’s a flash from Eddie’s own memories- himself, less than a day ago. Five years from now. His spindly hand locked around the Time Stone, his body bursting under the strain of it as he reaches through the fabric of reality and tells it _No, not this. Never._

**_You saved the world._** Venom squeezes again, rocks him, just a little. **_You saved all the worlds, and everyone in them._**

“Wasn’t planning to, I just wanted-“

**_I know. You did it anyway, and even if no one knows, we will always remember. You deserve nothing less._ **

Eddie blinks away tears, “Not for pity-“

**_No. Love. Always love, so much, and more every day_**.

Eddie feels the last of his resistance collapse. He’s not strong enough to fight, and if Venom wants him he can have every last piece. Whatever he says, Eddie knows he doesn’t deserve this, but he’s willing to spend the rest of his life trying to earn it. “Love you too.”

The sudden ring of footsteps makes them both start. Venom tenses around his shoulderblades, reaches down to his arms in case things get nasty. Eddie takes a deep breath and shoves himself up on one elbow, drags his legs under him, and manages the monumental task of sitting up.

It’s Dora. He feels Venom shift uncomfortably; he had not seen her when he was in Maria and this change, with both of them so weak, is threatening. “Hey Doctor Skirth.” Eddie tries to smile. It still doesn’t feel quite right, but better than his last attempts.

She looks uncomfortable, flicking through her clipboard. “I don’t remember telling you my name?”

Eddie shrugs, like that matters. “When can we go home?”

She fiddles with her glasses, looks even more awkward. “Not going to happen.” She grunts, and holds up her paperwork. “Drake’s delighted by your progress, you’ve achieved remarkably stable symbiosis.”

Eddie feels the hysterical laughter bubbling up inside him- but Venom clamps down on it, and Eddie can breathe again. “Come on, we both know he’s disappointed he can’t cut up my corpse and gloat over it.”

Her lips twitch. “Mixed feelings then. I’m more curious about your bloodwork, myself.”

“What?” Eddie slumps against the wall, “Have I got- cancer or something?”

**_No!_ **

“No. Your serotonin levels are low, but we can attribute that to poor diet, but-“ she hesitates “You weren’t lying, were you? About the drugs?”

“Yeah, I’m really boring.” Eddie clasps both hands over his stomach, pressing down against Venom’s coils inside him. So close, so deep. “Never been the hard partying type.”

“Which makes me suspect your behavior on coming here is due to something you’re _not_ taking.” She picks up a pen, “What is it? Bipolar? Depression?”

“PTSD.” Because he’s really not feeling up to lying. “Never diagnosed, but I should probably be on something.”

**_No. Not necessary. We’ll look after you_**.

Dora huffs through her nose, pushes her glasses back up her nose. “You don’t have a prescription?”

“Couldn’t afford insurance for-” it takes Eddie a moment to remember. Since his first disastrous interview with Drake, which was- “Six months? Six months.”

“I’ll see what I can do but-“ she breaks off, glances down the corridor, then jerking back.

Venom perks up. **_Drake?_**

“Don’t know.” Venom’s pushing him to get up so Eddie flattens both hands against the glass and manages to edge himself up to his feet. Standing up, he can feel Venom uncoiling down his back, latching onto his spine and bleeding strength into him. “Not sure it’s going to work, babe.” Eddie sighs. His body’s fine, but he’s so used to being a wreck his mind hasn’t caught up yet.

**_Fine_**.

Dora has, thankfully, not noticed their little exchange. She takes a few steps back as Drake and asshole come into view. “Checking up on our little miracle, Doctor?”

Drake’s all friendly smiles but asshole is hovering behind him like the ghost of Christmas murder. Dora’s eyes dart between them before landing on the security of her clipboard. “Just getting some medical history, Mr Drake.” She mumbles behind the board. “We need to figure out patterns in our more successful experiments.”

“Our _volunteers_ , doctor. Dear Eddie’s not just an experiment, is he? Not to you.”

Oh. This is bad. Eddie suddenly remembers that Dora _died_ here. It wasn’t quite clear how; her body had been pretty burned in their incinerator, but- yeah. This is not good.

Dora pales, “I don’t know what you-“

“You were very upset when Eddie came in, weren’t you?” Drake steps forward, voice very soft. “I noticed that. It might have been nothing but- maybe not. So I had Treese take a look at your laptop-“

“Hey Drake!” Eddie’s shout comes out as more of a wavering croak, but it gets their attention. “We’re ready to go home now.”

Drake glances at him; a disgusted look like Eddie’s some kind of- bug, under his foot. Venom bristles inside him, but Eddie doesn’t flinch. After everything in the last year, he wonders if he’s ever going to be scared of anything ever again. “These rooms suck.” He continues, as Dora backs away, “You need to put in a shower or something.”

“Deal with her.” Drake snaps at asshole. “Shut the fuck up Brock.”

Eddie leans against the door, feeling distant and floaty. Drake dead in the rocket. Drake alive in front of him. Drake about to die. “Okay, because you brought me and Vee together not once but twice, we’re going to be really, really, _really_ nice. You open the door, let us and everyone else out, and let Dora go, and you and asshole here get to be okay. Deal?”

**_Hungry_**. Venom purrs.

Eddie grins, feeling giddy with joy because his brain has lost all middle gears but mostly because oh thank you thank you _thank you_ they’re _here_. Alive and whole and _together_. “Okay, _one_ of you gets to be okay. We’ll let you choose which one.”

Drake and asshole look at each other. For a moment, Eddie wonders if they’re _actually_ going to do as he said, maybe the Time Stone gave them both some sense-

“Brock, I said shut up. Treese, take her out and shoot her.”

Dora’s eyes go wide; her mouth opens for a scream-

But Venom moves first. He slides out through Eddie’s skin clean as a knife through butter. Eddie closes his eyes and just- lets him take over. The door shatters under Venom’s claws in a chain of dull cracks like ice breaking up. Dora does scream then, there’s a _what the fuck_ that could have come from Drake or asshole, Eddie doesn’t know or care, and then there's the sweet eggshell crackle of a skull between their teeth. 

 

* * *

 

 

The spray of blood and brain matter is like a sunburst inside their mouth, sweet and hot and rich. The warm, slick weight of meat between their teeth. A gurgling cry cut off as their teeth snap around an esophagus. Venom tosses their head, and launches the rest of the carcass up, chomping down in massive, hungry bites.

Drake is screaming, fumbling for his phone but he trips and falls, the phone spinning away down the corridor. Skirth is choking in terror, struggling with a door a few cells down from them, pulling and pulling desperately as they stalk forwards. Their jaws hanging open, tongue lolling long and hungry; tasting fear, chemicals, the tang of other symbiotes nearby.

Drake holds up both hands in a cry that drags off into a hoarse rattle as Venom plants their foot on his chest and pushes _down._ There’s the tiny, slight snaps of his ribs cracking like twigs under their weight, Drake’s mouth open for a breath that won’t come-

Then that too vanishes in blood. Their teeth snapping around his head and upper body, biting deep and _pulling_ , a moment of tension, then the stretch-crack of the spinal muscles giving way. A splatter of blood and they are rearing back up, enjoying the heavy, delectable morsels in their mouth, running down their throat, the other half of Drake’s body spasming under their foot.

Skirth throws up, almost falling over as she struggles to swipe the keycard and open the cell. There’s a guy inside, thin and dark skinned. He’s screaming and pounding on the glass. He sees them, sees the blood carpeting the floor, slathered across their teeth, and shrieks even louder.

“Please please please-“ Skirth whispers, the keycard is stuck. Venom grins and stalks forwards the last step. She’s barely standing, crying as they lower their head to look at her. Terrified to the point of soiling herself, but still not running, still trying to save the poor fuck in the cell.

“ ** _Well done._** ” Venom grins, **_“You get to live._** ”

She screams, and manages to pull the keycard through.

The door hisses open, and the guy launches himself out, crashing into Dora. They collapse to the floor and the alarm goes off. Venom tenses, crouching. The man screams and digs his fingers into Dora’s face, a blur of black-blue snaking out of his hands. Venom hesitates for a moment, not sure if to strike or run-

Then the air cracks with gunfire, and the choice is made for them. Good luck to her, and Phage. Venom snarls, turns, and they run. They smash through glass wall after glass wall, and tear out of one of the outside windows. The air is sweet and cool, wet with rain on their skin, their tongue as they bound down to the ground.

The sirens are still going out here, but muffled enough that it isn’t painful. Venom pauses, lifting their head up to the blessing of the rain, feeling it run smooth and blissful over their jaws, wash away the blood. **_Eddie?_**

_Still here, darling_. Eddie shivers inside him. _Not sure I can hold it together much longer._

His brain chemistry’s all over the place, too much of everything. He wants to cry, wants to scream, wants to lie down in the rain and let it all wash over them, curl up and go to sleep and-

The air is split with more gunfire, a half-dozen heavy cracks as the bullets hit them- they don’t hurt, but the force makes them reel. Venom spins around, teeth bared. **_“We were having a moment.”_**

Most of Drake’s little private army is there, with armored cars and more guns that they can be bothered counting pointed at them. Good for them, Venom darts away a moment before they can get the second volley off, lunging for the trees and down towards the water. Two cars lurch in front of them and they slide down on their haunches, claws hooked under the front of the first car and hurling it back into the second. There’s a satisfying _crunch_ of glass and metal, and they’re moving before the two wrecks finish impacting, bullets thudding uselessly into their liquid flesh as they run.

One of the soldiers jumps free, only a few feet away from them. Venom grins but he’s got something in his hand, a flash of grey and-

_PAIN_

Eddie screams in his head and the _fire the fire_ , burning up their arm. It’s gone in a moment; just a flash-bang grenade, the flames spitting out in the rain, but the pain is savage and hungry and _oh so familiar_ and he’s _burning_ he’s clawing at Eddie he’s screaming as the ash crawls through him and nothing but empty and black and death and nothing forever-

The world flickers back in segments. The air is full of blood, and the man is dead. Eddie’s screaming; a long, hoarse, ululating howl as he brings a lump of torn metal down on that’s left of the guard’s head. There’s nothing there but pulped gore and brains and Eddie staggers up to his feet, dropping the metal and running at the rest of the guards in the overturned car, throat still splitting with his screams.

And oh, they’re not so scared now. So brave when there’s nothing but one lone guy racing towards them. Holding their guns so easily, so casually as they aim and prepare to fire and send Eddie - _oh please no not Eddie_ _no_ \- down to the darkness and nothing forever. Blood-blind _hate_ swallows Venom and it’s no longer escape, it’s _vengeance_. To rend and tear and bite and make someone else hurt as badly as they are hurting. He swallows up Eddie a moment before the first shots fire, and they jump on the pursuing guards.

It’s not together, not really. Not the way it used to be, joy and exhilaration and the reveling in being _one_. They are one only in pain now, only in memories as they claw and rip and tear through the disparate elements of flesh. Biting off heads not to feed but to _kill_ , to make _hurt_ , to slaughter over and over a thousand times and never the one they so desperately want to destroy. They're burning and screaming and bleeding and falling forever and alone alone _alone-_

Finally, they’re slumped over in what’s left of the woods, gulping damp air. The trees are stripped bare of branches, splinters thick on the ground and mottled red-brown. The hulks of a few cars burn fiercely, too close. Eddie moans inside and the sound breaks from their mouth, exhausted and wretched. The bodies are scattered around them two-three deep, the handful of survivors running away in terror.

Venom tries to get up and- can’t. Everything is too heavy, like the weight of the air Eddie is so terrifyingly aware of. They’re so twisted up it hurts to move, knotted together all _wrong_ until it’s just a feedback loop of _awful_ and the water running down their face isn’t just rain.

They look bleakly around at the mess they’ve made. Eddie should be freaking out, Venom recalls, as though through a mist. He should be screaming about all the people they’ve killed, and how much trouble they’re in-

_Don’t care._ Eddie whispers. _Can’t care. Saw so many dead, Vee. Couldn’t bury them. Couldn’t even burn them, even when fire still worked_.

They’re gone now. All these people. And maybe once Venom wouldn’t have cared but- that darkness. The nothingness in death. So many. And maybe they all deserved it as much as Drake and Treese but-

But Venom knows where they’ve gone now, and it makes him shudder.

_Don’t think about it_. Eddie pleads. _Just- too much. Please. Can we go home?_

It’s a few steps down to the bay. If those idiots had just let them get that little bit further, they would have been in the water, and all those people would still be alive. If they could just have- hung on, a little bit longer, just had a little more control-

_No_. Eddie whispers. _Done, finished. Not our fault. Tried to kill you. Tried to kill us_.

Eddie. Eddie running. Eddie screaming at those ranked rows of guns that would have ripped him to tatters if Venom had not been there. And they might not have been Thanos, but they’d done their best to kill them anyway. Venom closes their eyes, and launches them out into the deep, welcoming waters of the bay.

 

* * *

 

 

They crawl out of the water near the piers, creep down an alley out of sight. **_Eddie?_**

_Not going to be much good, babe, you go._

Venom nods, and takes them up. Eddie is horribly quiet as they climb over the rooftops, swing between the buildings. No complaints, not even the playful ones of the last few years. Just- not worth the effort, when everything is so very hard.

_I’m sorry._ Exhausted, the taste of tears inside them. _I- I want to, but_ -

**_Shh, no._** Venom lands on the roof of their complex, crawls down head first.

_I want to be strong._ _I want to be the person you fell in love with-_

**_Be quiet,_** Venom pleads. **_Please no. We love you. You, no one else._**

The windows are all closed. Venom hisses between their teeth- they need to get in, as quickly as possible.

_Left my keys and- pretty much everything inside_. Eddie sighs. _If you can open the door, I’ll- manage_.

Venom nods, and drops them down in the alley. Gives Eddie a moment, and draws back inside them. Eddie lurches sideways into the wall. “Oh shit.” He throws up. “Fuck.” He whispers. “Vee-“

Venom winds himself around Eddie, over and over and squeezing tight as a hug. **_Here_**.

“Oh.” Eddie leans back against the bricks, blinking across the alley. “Vee- I think that’s my bike.”

**_Yes, we won’t let it get hurt this time_**.

“Yeah.” Eddie rubs his face, pulls his hair, tears burn his eyes. _His bike_. Memories blurring, in and out of focus, the rush of buying it for the first time, the exhilaration of that first ride. Annie, arms tight around his stomach, Venom, roaring in his head as they speed away from LIFE Foundation- everything smashing together in a trainwreck of memories and the horrible crystallizing realization that he can’t drive anymore, that he might never ride again-

**_We’ll drive_**.

He gives a weak smile, tears running hot down his cheeks. “Yeah. You’re a good boyfriend.”

Somehow Eddie gropes his way around the building, and finds the front door. Venom snakes into the lock and pops it open, and then they’re _in_ and Venom lets Eddie slide to the floor. The world is fragmenting around them, time unmoored and flashing forwards and back too fast.

**_Shh, almost there_**.

“Come on.” Eddie whispers, pressing his hand against the lock. He can barely see through the tears. “Please, Vee-“

There’s a bang behind them and Venom rears back into Eddie- **_No!_** They’d killed Drake! Killed Treese, who-

But it’s only the idiot from across the hall. He freezes in the doorway and for a moment Venom wonders if he’s seen them. “Dude, are you okay?”

Eddie opens his mouth, but all that comes is more tears, a choked sob because that guy’s dead too. He’s dead and still alive and everything is overlaying each other like Russian dolls and he doesn’t even know what’s real- Venom digs his claws into the inside of Eddie’s arms and pins him in place. Here. Now.

“Whoa, okay.” Idiot looks awkward, hovering half in and half out of his apartment. “Can I- get you anything dude? Like- coffee, or anything?”

Eddie shakes his head; Venom slips back into the lock and clicks it open, the sooner they get inside, the better.

“You need me to call anyone?”

“M’okay.” Eddie shivers, backs up against the door until it tips over, and he scoots inside their place.

“Okay, I’ll- keep it down for a bit. Yeah. Sorry I was-“ Any more is lost when Eddie kicks the door closed behind them.

The flat. _Their_ flat. Venom devours it with their eyes; the worn sofa, the coffee table with the newspapers stacked up, the jobs circled in red ink. The kitchenette, the little plant half dead on the window. The bathroom with its cracked tiles; shards of broken glass across the floor- that’s new.

“Dropped- something.” Eddie agrees. “I’ll tidy it.” He looks at the endless space between the door and bathroom and buries his hand in his hands.

**_“I’ll do it_**.” Venom strokes his back. “ ** _Rest_**.”

He swarms along the floor, stretching himself to his limits to get to the bathroom, and eats the glass. He tries the liquid on the floor, but it’s sour and sickly, so he drops a towel to soak it up, and retreats back to Eddie.

Eddie is slumped against the door with eyes heavy and half closed. Only his pupils are moving, flicking back and forth around the flat. **_“Eddie?”_**

“Is this real?” Eddie whispers. “It’s just- sometimes it’s hard to remember.” He closes his eyes and his head slumps forwards, dropping into sleep for a moment, then jerking up again. “Please.”

**_“Here, my Eddie.”_** He winds around Eddie’s hands. **_“Always here.”_**

Eddie looks down, watching Venom washing over his wrists. “Darling-“ he pulls up one sleeve, then another. “I need- fuck, I’m already going mad. I need to know; even with you here- I need to know it was _real_.”

Venom looks down at Eddie’s arms; strong and unmarked, faintly dusted with dark hairs. He soaks through the skin, running up to his elbows and reveling in the pull and play of tendons just under the skin, the muscles bunching against the strong bones. For a moment, he wants to say _no_ , he wants-

He wants to lie. He wants to tell Eddie that it wasn’t real. That he _was_ mad, it was all a long, hideous nightmare but Eddie’s awake now, Venom’s here and he’s safe and they will be safe, all will be well-

“Please no.” Eddie whispers; and he already half believes it. Desperately _wants_ to believe it, but doesn’t dare. “Please Vee- I’ll believe anything you tell me, I love you.”

**_“I love you too.”_** Venom closes his eyes wearily. **_“You saved my life. You saved everyone_**.” And tears Eddie’s arms open from elbow to wrist.

Eddie cries out, exultant in pain. Venom’s claws have dug down almost to the bone, ripped through muscles and nerve endings, blood splatters the floor for a heartbeat before Venom soaks through him again, tying off the veins and arteries, healing the worst of the damage, numbing the nerves-

“No.” Eddie whispers. “Not all of it. Leave me something to feel.”

And Venom laps back, flowing away from his arms, revealing half-healed, ragged skin; the wounds raw and red in the deep scars he’d left behind. “Oh, thank you.” Eddie traces the outline of each wound. “You got them just right.”

**_“I remember.”_** Venom whispers, wrapping around his neck. Eddie, crying out, his claws in his arms. The last glimpse of light before darkness devoured it all, he would never forget. He shivers as Eddie strokes a little too hard over the wounds, savoring the pain. **_“Don’t.”_**

“It helps.” Eddie sighs and- he’s right. He’s more grounded, the world settling around them, more real than it has been since Eddie woke up. “I keep feeling like- either I’m going to wake up or the world is, and when one of us does the other won’t be there anymore.”

**_“Shh.”_** Venom nuzzles him ** _. “You are here, we are here. No one is going anywhere. You can sleep.”_**

Eddie digs his fingers into the wounds, a little too hard. Blood wells up under his nails and Venom rears up at the shock of pain, wrapping around Eddie’s hands to keep him from hurting himself further. **_“Eddie!”_**

“Please.” Eddie clings to Venom. “I can’t- I’ll go back there. It’s just- waiting.” He pulls Venom closer.

Yes. Venom knows; just like that empty nothing is waiting, hungry and gaping just there, behind their eyes. **_“Will it better if I am there?”_**

Eddie closes his eyes, hangs on tight. “Please. But- fuck, I don’t want you to see it.”

He strokes over Eddie’s arms, closing the wounds and licking off the blood. **_“I would rather see it with you. Come to bed.”_**

It takes long moments before Eddie can move. He crawls on his hands and knees at first, then gets to the sofa and pushes himself upright, wavering unsteadily for the last few steps to the bed. He collapses sideways, curling up on the blankets still bundled and bunched from his last desperate waking.

“Vee-“ Reaching out, hand spasming and knotting into the bedclothes.

_“ **Here**_.” And he reaches out of Eddie’s body, wraps him over and over in layers of self, slowly sliding into being _one_ , so close Eddie relaxes into him, his eyes sliding closed a moment before they become _their_ eyes. **_“Us.”_** They murmur, running claws over their chest, their arms now marked by mottled silver. **_“Sleep together, dream together. We eat nightmares_**.”

Then they close their eyes, and slide off into the tangled knots of their dreams. Together.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s the light that wakes them, flickering dull gold through the curtains. For a heartbeat, Eddie is back _there_ , screaming helplessly among the dust, drowning in the dying air-

**_No_**. Venom murmurs in his inner ear. **_Not there, not any more_**.

And Eddie slumps back, into the welcoming embrace. Venom is wrapped all around him, webbed over his chest and upper arms; he can see a few tendrils, fine as inky veins, reaching through the tender skin of his underarms, right down to his wrists. Eddie smiles, admiring the contrast between the deep black and the raw red of his injuries. The world settles a little more around him, pinned down by the clawmarks, staked out by Venom. Home. Wherever and whenever this is, this is home.

“I missed you.” He says simply, and feels Venom writhe up over his back, nuzzling against his cheek. The words fall away, tiny and helpless.

**_“Missed you too.”_** Venom murmurs against the back of his neck. A new tendril snakes down Eddie’s arm, and he gropes for it, entwining their fingers.

“You were- gone.” Fuck, he can’t even say it. A whole year and still his throat closes in denial. “Could you even have felt that?”

**_“We knew we were- somewhere.”_** Venom presses against his throat, huddled against the pulsing artery at his throat. **_“We knew you were not there. That was all we knew. It was all that mattered.”_**

Eddie rolls over, “Come here.”

And Venom is there. First as just a mass of black coils, swirling out of him and pooling over his chest, his stomach, between his thighs. Then he pulls himself together into an approximation of his body, a torso pressing down on Eddie’s, legs presses against his inner thighs, hands wrapped around his. Venom’s massive head coming together, barely in inch from his. Those jagged teeth part, his tongue flicks out. **_“Eddie.”_** Ravenous.

Eddie gets his arms free, and wraps them around Venom’s neck. The muscles press painfully against his injuries as he pulls Venom closer, presses his mouth hungry and demanding against needle-sharp teeth. **_Here, now. Together._ **Venom groans against him, shuddering.

“Not again.” Eddie whispers. “You die. I die. I can’t-“

**_“No.”_** Venom’s voice is thick, heavy. Eddie wonders, horrified, if he’s about to cry. **_“Not to die. Never that.”_**

“Not without you!” The pain bleeds into his voice, desperation. “Fuck, I wanted to join you, anything but to go on alone. Please-“

**_“You didn’t see it.”_** Venom groans. **_“Nothing. Just darkness, forever. Even if you died, we would never have found each other.”_**

Eddie closes his eyes, pulls him closer and- huge as Venom is, strong as their massive muscles are- they suddenly feel so very weak and frail against everything facing them.

**_“You will not die.”_** Venom continues, running a claw down Eddie’s cheek, brushing away the tears. ** _“We will not allow it. You will live forever with us.”_**

“You can’t promise that.” Eddie pulls Venom’s head down to rest under his chin, feel him breathe, warm and hot.

**_“Our body will not fail.”_** The words reverberate through him. **_“We will eat anyone who tries to hurt us, and that- that monster is dead. We will be us, forever.”_**

Eddie could say more about that- but doesn’t. There’s desperation in Venom’s voice, the trembling terror of just what they’re up against. Death, the endless winter dark the sparrow flies into after passing through the lighted room. And maybe some part of Eddie won’t believe it, clings to the faith that if they just die together, not a breath between them, they will be one forever, even in that terrible darkness.

“Well,” he swallows against the lump in his throat. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re gonna take every fucking minute we can get.”

Venom gives a wordless groan of agreement; hands mapping over Eddie’s chest, his arms, trailing shiver-sharp against his scalp. Trying to assure himself Eddie is _here_. Eddie closes his eyes; relaxes against them, smiling as Venom’s body slowly loses its cohesion, melting back into him, little by little.

The sun is higher now, peeking through a crack in the curtains. Outside, the world rumbles on without them, cars passing, people talking in the street outside. Next door plays a few acoustic chords before stopping, as though embarrassed. A police car wails away into the distance. The world. _Their_ world. Gone forever and now back, living and breathing in glorious colour and Eddie doesn’t have the first clue what to do now.

**_“Food.”_** Venom decides for them, head perking up from Eddie’s chest. **_“When did you last eat?”_**

“Yesterday.” Eddie scratches him under the chin. “Drake and asshole buffet, remember?”

**_“Real food.”_** Venom narrows his eyes. **_“You can’t metabolise human flesh properly.”_**

Then- Eddie can’t remember. Nothing since he came back to himself and- maybe that’s one reason he’s been such a wreck? Massive blood-sugar crash? He’d gotten used to barely eating in the past year, but this body’s been used to good food.

Fuck, but _food_. Real food, not the increasingly foul remains in the tins. It hits Eddie just _how much choice_ they have. Massive buffets in Chinatown, delicate sushi on the pier, steakhouses and perfectly tweezed _nouvelle cuisine_ and McDonalds and that vegetarian place Venom hates and the choice is suddenly so huge and overwhelming he doesn’t know where to _start_ , the panic clenching in his chest-

**_“Pancakes.”_** Venom decides for them, wrapping himself in tendrils all around Eddie’s chest, holding him securely and squeezing.  **_“Chocolate, and blueberries, and maple syrup.”_**

“Yeah.” Eddie croaks, “IHOP. You remember where it is?”

**_“We can find it.”_ **

“Okay.”

 

* * *

 

 

He finds his cards and keys by his laptop, his clothes and shoes are somewhere back in LIFE laboratories, but that’s okay. He finds a pair of jeans, and Venom flows over him easily, settling into a plain black shirt, hugging his feet in a pair of dull black boots. Eddie hugs himself, and Venom bulks out in a heavy black turtleneck, warm and hugging him back, a constant reminder that they’re _here_. Not alone.

Okay. IHOP. More than a year ago, they’d been ready to charge off to Wakanda to take on the monster’s army. Now it’s a trembling struggle to open the door and step out into the too loud, too fast world outside.

Venom is a little too tight around his shoulders; trembling as a car shoots past them, the wind of its passing pulling at them. A solid knot of metal, moving so fast they would be crushed against it. Venom pulls them away from the edge of the sidewalk, closer to the wall. But that’s not safe either- a mangy dog barking at them from an alley, snarling teeth and drool, savage and possibly infected-

“Babe.” Eddie stops a few doors away, leaning against the wall. “I- I can’t do this without you. It's too much.”

Venom doesn’t answer; Eddie can feel him nuzzled in against his heart, his arteries and liver. **_Safe_**.

“Yeah.” Eddie strokes the pullover, “I’m safe, we’re both safe. We’re bigger and nastier than anything else out here, right?”

**_Right_**. Venom doesn’t sound like he’s convinced either. Eddie pulls up the bottom of his pullover, burying his face in the soft texture, it moves against his lips and they kiss. **_Wasn’t enough, before_**. Sick and dreadful.

“It’s dead.” Eddie murmurs into the fabric. “It’s a lot of old bones a thousand light-years away. We’re here.”

**_I know. But I don’t believe it. You know what that’s like_**.

Eddie nods, lets the pullover go and hugs themselves. He knows that so fucking well. “You take your time.” Eddie whispers. “I love you.”

**_I will try, but- difficult. Too many nightmares_**. He twists uncomfortably as a police car screams past, sick with guilt and grief. For the creature they had been, brave and fearless and confident, who had died under the monster’s hands and that no Time Stone could ever bring back.

“I know.” Eddie digs his fingers into the pullover, a stab of pain as his wounds pull taut. “I know and I- I’ll always love you. Forever.”

For a moment they just stay there, leaning against the wall and quietly mourning the people they had been. The person they had been, together. Eddie swallows painfully, wipes his face. “Wish I could stop crying.”

**_As long as it takes until you feel better._ **

A whole year of misery and nightmares. “Gonna take a while.” Eddie braces them on the wall and manages to get them going.

**_As long as it takes._ **

They can’t quite manage the trolley. The noise and crowd inside makes Eddie shy away, and the speed and crackling electricity makes Venom huddle inside him. They walk instead, and Eddie finds himself staring at- everything, as it passes them. The people and the cars and the houses and- everything. The whole world that _wasn’t there_ two days ago. Cats sunning themselves on the sidewalk, a sideswipe leading to a screaming match between motorists, a little huddle of old ladies bringing their groceries home. A whole world.

**_Our world_**. Venom points out firmly. **_Turn left_**.

It’s the tiny IHOP by the St Francis hospital and oh but the _smell_ , melting sugar and chocolate and that rich, mouthwatering rush of cooking batter. Eddie licks his lips, he’s drooling, his stomach suddenly waking up and _roaring_ in dismay. Holy shit he’s hungry.

**_Yes_** , Venom grumbles, **_Need to look after yourself_**.

“Gonna make us eat our vegetables?”

**_Need to be healthy_** , Venom begrudges, **_we can eat some green things, once in a while_**.

Eddie smiles, and it even feels halfway right. He looks at himself in the glass door, and Venom grins back. Good. He pushes their way inside.

It’s still early enough that there’s only a small crowd at the counter. Most of them are on their phones, waiting their turn to order. Eddie takes a breath and- okay. It’s okay. They’re safe, even Venom can’t see phones as threatening. They just need to wait a bit and then there’ll be the counter and food and-

And someone turns, too impatient to wait, their shoulder bashing against Eddie’s so hard he’s knocked back against a table. “Watch it.”

Eddie can’t move. The guy doesn’t even look at them, barging out, the door ringing closed behind them. It takes a few more moments until Eddie can breathe again. Venom locked up somewhere behind his ribcage, trembling.

**_Asshole_** , Venom tries; too-uncertain bravado. **_We should eat him_**.

“Sure babe.” Eddie closes his eyes. The world slowly coming back together around them after so abruptly shattering. Fuck, they’re a mess.

**_Sorry_**.

“It’s not your fault.”

The door rings again, and Eddie shuffles forwards for their turn at the counter. They drag in a breath and Eddie tries to focus on the menu options but- he can’t. Too many people; too close around him and how many are going to hurt them? How many hands hungry to snatch at his throat, to close around Venom and _pull_ and _burn_ and leave him screaming and screaming and-

He’s screaming now.

He’s on his knees in front of the counter, clutching at Venom who’s rapidly losing cohesion, melting off him in panic and _no no no-_

“Sir!” The poor girl at the counter is stricken, staring from him to the rest of the stunned customers. “Please stop!”

Eddie chokes off. There’s no one near them, everyone is backed away as far from him as they can. A few have dropped their forks and dashed for the door. Eddie drags in a shattering breath, “Vee-“

**_Here._** Venom is struggling to- literally- pull himself together, form back into their clothes when everything is screaming at them to merge and become so big and terrifying that nothing can ever hurt them, never ever ever again-

_Thanos, laughing at their desperate attempts, wrapping a hand around their throat and pulling-_

**_No!_** Venom pulls at him, managing to drag Eddie to his feet. **_Please Eddie. Please can we just get pancakes, please I don’t want to see-_**

Eddie closes his eyes, digs his fingers into the counter. The girl cringes back. “We want- pancakes.” He blinks, but his eyes are so blinded with tears everything’s just a blur. He has no idea what to order.

**_All the pancakes_**.

“All the pancakes.” Eddie repeats.

“What?” The girl stares at them helplessly.

“I mean-“ what does he like? He draws a blank. “Chocolate. Belgian chocolate with chocolate syrup.” She nods frantically. At least Venom’s easy to shop for.

**_Thank you Eddie._ **

“Love you.” Eddie agrees.

“What?” The girl repeats.

“No, I mean-“ Eddie waves it off. “I want- blueberries. With maple syrup.”

“Which one, chocolate or blueberries?” The girl glances back at the rest of the queue, pleading for help.

“Two, one with each.” It's okay, they’re doing this. They’re going to have pancakes. “And- your biggest coffee. Black. All the sugar.”

The girl enters the order with the tips of her fingers, angling her body as far away from Eddie as he can. “Twenty one, ninety seven.”

Eddie digs out one of his cards, it’s a blur of grey and he’s not even sure what it is. He closes his eyes and tries to breathe as the cash register beeps. Fuck, but how did they used to do this? It didn’t used to be this hard, he’s pretty sure. They were able to function, more or less-

“This says it’s been declined.” The girl whispers, and shoves the card back across the counter.

Oh. He’d overcharged a lot of his credit cards, back then. Venom is bewildered and Eddie feels the same, how can this stupid bit of plastic be the difference between food and no food? He looks back down at the bundle of cards- “Try this one-“

“Here.” Someone pushes their way up to the front. Eddie cringes back from him, but he just drops a handful of dollars on the counter. “I’ll get it.”

Then he turns to them and- and-

_Dan_.

Eddie stares at him. For a moment, neither he nor Venom can say anything. They saw him die. He’d refused to stay behind when Annie was determined to go with them to Wakanda, and had shattered to ash on the battlefield. Annie’s scream ringing in their ears in that last, final charge as the beasts devoured her.

Those deaths, those bodies falling by the roadside, one by one until it’s just him, and Stark, and Nebula. And then Stark was gone too, skin translucent over his ribs as he struggled for that last breath.

**_Stop_**.

Eddie blinks; shivers. Dan is saying something, and he hasn’t heard a word. “What?” He croaks.

“I said, do you want to sit down?” He reaches for Eddie’s arm, and they start back, shuddering. Dan drops his hand quickly, stepping back and smiling, trying to look harmless, friendly.

Eddie looks back, helplessly. Have they met him yet? All those memories, four years of friendship, shared dinners and outings and three Chanukahs spent together. All gone; nothing but memories that would never happen.

“You remember me?” Dan says gently, still with that little smile. “You met me a few nights ago, remember?”

Right. The night he’d walked past Annie’s apartment. So that _has_ happened. He- kinda wishes it hadn’t. Annie told him later she’d been pretty freaked out, wondering if she now had a stalker. Told him. Would Tell him. Never would again. “Yeah.” Eddie manages. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Dan says firmly, gently shooing him towards a chair. “Come on, you need to sit down.”

Eddie staggers back, and collapses into the seat. Dan pulls his chair out a little too far, giving Eddie an extra few inches of space that he’s almost pathetically grateful for. Venom hugs him tightly, strokes up over his throat and squeezes there too, just enough to make breathing a bit of a struggle, a reminder they’re _here_.

Dan doesn’t try and talk at first, waiting until the pancakes arrive. They smell sweet and overwhelming, Eddie lets out a low growl, and falls on the stack half drowned in maple syrup, the blueberries piled high. Dan politely looks away as Eddie makes a complete pig of himself- which is good, because that lets Venom snake out and devour his Belgian chocolate pancakes without being seen.

“I don’t care.” Eddie whispers, wiping his mouth clean. “Let them look, I don’t care.”

Dan makes a mild humming sound, still pretending not to pay attention. Eddie swallows half his coffee in one go and- oh, okay.

The weight of food inside him is like- ballast, pulling him down into his chair. The rush of sugar and carbohydrates pounds through his veins, the coffee kicking into his hindbrain. Reality settles back down around them and Eddie feels a lot more _real_ than he has for- years, it feels like.

“Feeling better?” Dan smiles, sipping his tea. He’s got waffles. Belgian waffles with eggs and bacon and for a moment Eddie’s three years ago- two to come.

A late night spent talking, all four of them, getting drunk and deciding nothing but IHOP waffles would do. Half an hour wandering outside at two in the morning until Eddie convinces them he can make them at home, and the four of them roaring with laughter in the kitchen, burning through rashers of bacon and stacks of waffles until the kitchen is choking in smoke and the fire alarm goes off-

“Eddie?” Dan leans in, and Eddie starts back to himself.

“I’m okay.” Eddie tries. At least Dan doesn’t have to watch him climb into a lobster tank- then again; he’s just watched him having a screaming breakdown in IHOP, which isn’t much better.

“No you’re not.” Dan says gently.

“No, I’m not.” Eddie agrees and suddenly he _needs_ to see Dan. Not this kind stranger sitting across from him but _Dan_. The guy he’s known for four years, gentle and sweet and happy to take anything in his stride, always ready to listen to Eddie’s latest disaster, always ready to help, and occasionally slipping them the details of some price-gouging big pharma CEO.

But this isn’t that guy. He’s dead too. Everyone is dead, and they are just- pretending, playing the roles long gone-

**_Shh, Eddie._** Venom curls around his heart; a slight squeeze, like a comforting heart attack.

“Is there anything I can do?” Dan leans in earnestly. “You’re not well.”

He wants to tell him. Fuck, it’s almost too much to hold inside them, all that horror, that madness. “Not really.” Eddie chokes out. “We- have to do this ourselves. I’m sorry.” Blinking back tears, at this man they knew so well and have only seen once before. It _hurts_ so much.

“Eddie-“ he looks away and sighs, “I know things aren’t- good between you and Annie, but she wouldn’t want to see you hurt. She wants to see you taking care of yourself.”

“I’m trying.” It’s the best he can do. The best anyone can do. “We’re trying, we- we can manage.”

“If you’re sure.” He digs in his wallet and pulls out a card. “Just- think about it, okay? Give me a call if you change your mind. I know some good therapists.”

Eddie looks down at the card, _Dr Dan Lewis, surgeon_. “Thanks.” He tucks it away in his pocket, and hopes Venom won’t eat it by accident.

They leave before this awful morning can get any worse, half deafened by their own ragged breathing as they run the mile or so back home. Stumbling through the doors and collapsing on the couch among the detritus of a life long dead. Eddie buries his face in his hands and cries.

Venom pulls free of his back, wraps enormous arms around him and holds him closer, face pressed into a huge shoulder, teeth against his ear murmuring soothing nonsense. “ ** _Love we are here love we are not leaving we love you-“_**

They are- kidding themselves. They can’t do this. Can’t pretend any longer. They are never going to have the life they left behind. Never. It’s all fallen away to ash and darkness.

**_“Then we won’t.”_** Venom says firmly. **_“We will have another life, a different one. We can go Eddie, somewhere far away where no one knows us, and start again. We are here, we are alive. We can make something new.”_** _Something better_ hangs between them, but goes unsaid.

“I don’t know where to start.” Eddie rubs his eyes, they’re feeling raw. “Don’t have any money.” Unless he can find some, they’re going to lose the apartment, and although he’s been pretty much homeless for the last year it’s not an experience he wants to repeat.

**_“We will take care of us. We will not be hungry; we will be warm and safe.”_** Venom nuzzles his cheek. **_“Never apart, my Eddie.”_**

“Oh _fuck_ -“ and oh but that feels good, and suddenly being worried about the bills or the rent seems- idiotic. They’re _here_ , together. A few days ago he’d never believed he would ever see Vee again, living or dead. It seems pretty ungrateful to so much as _think_ about anything else.

Still, he needs to try. Reporting work is- not an option. He’s not going to be able to do much groundwork, not until he can go get breakfast without having a meltdown. The thought that he might never feel that thrill of discovery, of uncovering _truth_ and casting it in his own words-

“You will.” Venom rocks him. “We will. We will be so much more.”

Eddie nods, closing his eyes and relaxing into the hug. Warm, and safe. So warm and safe, and always to be, no matter what happens. Even if they are thrown out on the street, they will have each other, and the fear and grief fades a little.

“Maybe- something online?” Eddie turns, curling up in Venom’s arms, “There was that bullshit website, the one that wanted conspiracy theory writers.” He gives a weak, wet smile, “We basically _are_ a conspiracy theory, right?”

“Right.” Venom bumps the front of his face against Eddie’s nose, drawing a tired laugh. “We are time-travelers from a time that doesn’t exist. We are better than Area 51.”

“And at least we’d be a bit more creative. Jews this, Jews that- pretty sure Dan isn’t a shapeshifting alien.” Eddie chuckles, and pulls Vee’s head down for a kiss, open-mouthed and sweet.

Venom’s tongue touches the seam of his lips, tracing over the creases, dipping in to push against the slight part of his teeth. He tastes rich and heavy as sugar syrup, metallic and hot. Eddie pulls away, touching his lips. “Vee?”

“Yes Eddie?” Venom purrs, tongue lashing out longer and longer, twisting teasingly inches from Eddie’s face.

_Fuck_ but- it’s been so _long_. When- when had they last done this? A few quick moments snatched in the freight plane going over to Wakanda, if that counted. Or if not then- right here. An evening spent writing up an article, and then Venom slipping free from him- piece by piece, tentacles stroking under his shirt, sliding under the edge of his jeans to stroke and taste-

Right here. On this couch, just where Eddie is sitting. And Eddie closes his eyes to block out the memories, fracturing like a kaleidoscope. So many evenings, mornings, nights, spent together on this couch, the thousand different flavors of lovemaking, Venom’s skin on his, tongue washing over him, tentacles and tendrils and cock, touching him everywhere, filling him up.

All those memories that never happened.

Eddie lurches, feeling pulled off balance by the _weight_ of what will never be. Like a brick on the fabric of reality, dragging it all out of shape. But Venom is there, arms around him and pulling him back from the edge, pinning him to the couch and kissing him again, harder this time, the crush of teeth so hard his lips are nicked and bleeding.

**_Yes?_** Venom rumbles in his mind.

_Fuck yes_ , Eddie moans back, opening his mouth and sucking ravenously against Venom’s teeth until the tongue slips out and fills him, pouring more and more and slick and heavy until his jaw aches, until he’s swallowing around the root of him and pinching his own thumb to suppress his gag reflex and shivering as the writhing, tender mass slides down his throat, pushing the skin of his throat taut.

**_Eddie._** Venom shudders, pouring heat and _want_ and _hunger_ through them. **_Please_**.

Eddie swallows around Venom’s tongue, throat flexing around him, inviting him further in. Venom pants into Eddie’s mouth, shuddering. He doesn’t feel sexual arousal quite as humans do, but this is overwhelming. Eddie can feel Venom’s mind struggle to register the sheer _pleasure_ of Eddie’s mouth and throat; clenching and massaging, Eddie’s own tongue rubbing along the underside, his teeth scraping and biting so very lightly.

Then Eddie _groans_ , as deep and reverberating as he can, opening his throat further and letting the vibrations play over Venom’s tongue. He can’t breathe, but it doesn’t matter. Venom feeds him oxygen directly into his esophagus, leaving him free to be stuffed so full it almost hurts.

**_Too much_**? Venom’s great eyes drift half closed as he pushes his tongue in a little harder.

_Perfect_. Eddie bites down harder, capturing the heavy, squirming muscles between his teeth, like the sweetest, juiciest steak-

**_No clever ideas_**. Venom growls; and his hands snap around Eddie’s hips, pulling him closer. Eddie jerks as his cock bumps up against Venom’s body, he hadn’t realised he was quite this hard already.

The memories stalk threateningly, just out to sight, baiting him to reach for them. A year alone, the loneliness so unbearable, unable to touch anyone else, the weeping misery at what he’d lost-

**_No!_** Venom pulls him up, opening his jaws so wide Eddie’s head is half between his teeth. **_Stop. Here. Now. Will bite you if you don’t listen._**

_I’m sorry_.

**_Don’t care. You are mine, doesn’t matter what happened as long as it brought you here, now._ **

Eddie smiles, staring up into the endless rows of teeth. He swallows again, tastes the metal-sugar of Venom’s saliva. Venom’s claws rake over his scalp, the other hand pulling up the bottom of his shirt and scratching lightly over the small of his back, nipping down to the curve of his ass under the worn denim of his jeans.

Eddie’s hips jerk forwards as a long, clawed finger probes between the cheeks of his ass. His cock twitches almost painfully, caught in the constricting folds of his underwear and pants. He gropes down with a hand- _hang on-_

**_No_**. Venom purrs, and suddenly, Eddie’s hands are pulled back behind his back, pinned in place by a tangle of tendrils. Another tentacle is snaking down his stomach to the waistband of his pants, licking hungrily over the fine trail of hair leading under his navel. Venom smiles against his mouth as he shudders, sparks flaring up from his spine, between his legs. The hair on his arms standing on end.

The tentacles flicks the button of his jeans open, wraps around Eddie’s fly and eases the zipper down; little by little, teasing, drawing out the relief as Eddie’s cock finally slips free, pre-cum already staining the front of his boxers.

_Good_ , Eddie smiles against Venom’s tongue. He swallows again, then hums as low as he can, feeling everything in his throat vibrate and tremble.

**_More_**. Venom growls, and the hand on his head is around his throat, squeezing. The pressure crushing against Eddie’s neck; and through that into Venom’s tongue, so tight Eddie can feel the blood pounding in his head, struggling through the blockage. He’s already light-headed, but the pain is exquisite, terrifying and wonderful because this is _Venom_ , who would never hurt him and could kill him so easily and there’s no one else whose arms Eddie would rather die in and oh he wants he wants he _wants-_

Venom’s tentacles tease his underwear down, letting his cock bob free; rock-hard and pressing against his stomach. The hand on his ass squeezes; the claws tracing so very lightly around his hole, darting in and out, never hard enough to hurt, but so close Eddie shivers, feeling the catch of the razor-sharp tip against the rim of muscles.

“I-ah-“ Eddie chokes and presses back against Venom’s claws. _Please,_ he continues inside their head. _Go on, I want you inside me- FUCK!_

And the claw liquefies, a thick tendril of Venom pushing inside him. Just a little too large for a body unused to this. Eddie arches up against Venom, lungs spasming as he pulls in all the air Venom feeds him, sucking Venom’s tongue as far down as he can, his hips rutting against Venom’s body. He groans as Venom’s tentacles wrap around his hips and hold him in place, so deep Venom shudders in unison with him. Then the tentacles reach his cock and everything is _fireworks_ , starbursts behind his eyes.

He grabs at Venom, fingers digging into each side of his head just to _hang on_ as he’s rocked so very close to the edge but not yet, not yet. He plunges a hand into Venom’s mouth and squeezes the root of his tongue, kneading the long muscle and pulling; sucking, making him _feel it_ , feel as good as he’s making Eddie feel.

The tentacle in his ass pushes further in; two more circle his hole, stroking until he starts to relax, then pulling him wider, coaxing him open to take more and more and _more_ until Eddie half wonders if Venom is trying to reach his own tongue, thread him like a needle.

Then the tentacle twists and pushes _just there_ and Eddie’s jerking forwards again, his body twitching against Venom’s, desperate and clawing and moaning and swallowing and Venom is pushing against him in turn, claws digging into his neck, tentacles twisting and curling and thrusting. They are so, so close, Eddie can feel his balls drawing tight, his cock pulsing against Venom’s squeezing tentacles, it feels _so_ good, he’s gonna cum _so hard_ -

**_Yes_** , the thought it unsteady, wavering with lust, **_Eddie-_**

_Yes._ Eddie closes his eyes and squeezes Venom’s tongue, biting and worrying at the tender flesh, swallowing. _Come on, sweetheart_.

Venom’s tentacles twist inside him, rubbing and milking him just as his cock is wrapped tight and squeezed over the edge. Eddie gives a garbled cry and comes in great, shuddering waves of pleasure, a riptide pulling them under, together lost in blinding, starshot ecstasy.

Eddie’s fingers dig into Venom’s tongue, the side of his head as they shudder and gasp and pant into each other, sharing breath, drowning in each other. Venom half melts around him, licking every inch of him, sucking and nibbling everywhere until Eddie shivers in exhausted pleasure, so wrapped up and devoured by each other, Eddie doesn’t know where each of them begin or end.

Venom eases them down to the couch, and relaxes into a tangle of tentacles, ebbing and sliding in and out of Eddie’s skin. Eddie closes his eyes and winds his fingers through the endless, peacefully pulsing strands. He feels- _good_. Better than he has for so long. He shivers as Venom slowly eases his tongue out of his throat, scraping the raw inside of his mouth. Eddie coughs, and draws in his own breath for the first time in five minutes.

“Gettup here,” he slurs. Venom slips closer and Eddie presses a lazy, sloppy kiss against his mouth. Venom purrs and half melts against his face, licking all over him. Eddie sighs, his whole body so lax and lazy they could just- sleep here.

**_“Sleep_**.” Venom agrees. “ ** _Sleep. Everything is good, we are safe.”_**

****


	2. Chapter 2

_2023_

Eddie’s huddled up under layers and layers of old clothes, filthy and reeking. Flesh strapped tight under sagging grey skin, the bones raw and standing proud. His eyes follow Tony’s hands, the screwdriver obscenely clean and gleaming in the fading, golden light.

“You can get it working?” It’s the third time he’s asked, but Tony doesn’t seem to mind.

“Not- going to be- pretty.” Each breath comes slowly, drawn in deep and full.

“That hardly matters.” Nebula stands at the door, looking out. Every so often, she draws a sword and runs her fingers just above the shimmering, flawless blade.

Her swords, Tony’s screwdriver. The only things left in the world not drowning in ash. The screws slowly sink into the patchwork motherboard, holding the wires in place.

Then Tony has to stop, mouth opening wide and desperate to drink in another breath, another, another. Still breathing. Just.

“We got any more O2?” Eddie looks up at Nebula.

“No. Just like last time you asked.”

The last screw is in place. Tony’s fingers brush over the circuit. “Not much.” He whispers. “Just- looping circuit. Lets- power build up. No failsafes.” He gives an exhausted smile.

“One last bomb.” Eddie leans in. “Guess you never lost your touch.”

Tony leans in, his fingers brush over Eddie’s wrist, but stay away from the old scars peeking from under his cuffs. He knows how far is too far. Eddie takes his hand, squeezes.

“We don’t have a power source.” Nebula stalks over, face blank and cold. “The energy stations blew months ago.”

“We have one.” The setting is ready. Tony licks his lips, but his hands are steady. “A warm light for all mankind.”

“What?” Nebula frowns.

Tony’s fingers dig into the edge of the arc reactor’s housing. Eddie starts forwards to stop him, but Tony looks at him and- he falls still. He’s hungered for death for more than a year; he can hardly begrudge Tony this release. The arc reactor snaps, hisses, and pulls free with a jerk.

Tony lurches forwards, and for a moment he’s about to be sick- then he shudders, drags in a breath. Two, three. His hands are starting to shake as he squeezes Eddie's and lets go, but they are steady enough to slot the arc reactor into the setting. “Just- finish the connection.” He points to the two loose wires. “Then it’s- good to go.”

Eddie nods taking Tony's hand again as the man reaches for him, holding on tight as Tony slowly slumps backwards into the nest of blankets and rags that has been that has been their home for the last few weeks. “Thank you.” Eddie says finally.

Tony shakes his head. “Any- messages you want sent?” He tries to smile. “For your- sweetheart?” He thumb brushes over Eddie’s hand, just shy of the scars.

Eddie shudders, his breath hacks into a sob. “I love you.” He whispers. “Tell him that, and-“ he leans forwards, and touches his lips to Tony’s.

Tony tries to smile. “Better- give him- that-“ He shudders, his heels drum on the floor as his body spasms, “-yourself.” He looks at Nebula. “You?” It’s less than a whisper.

Nebula doesn’t move, stiff and still. She’s seen so many dead, what’s one more corpse? “Tell Gamora this is for her.” She says finally.

Tony nods, hands gripping Eddie’s so hard his knuckles turn white, his fingertips slowly fading to blue. Eddie doesn’t move, doesn’t let go even as Tony’s body stiffens and finally falls limp. Not moving until Tony’s eyes glaze over to empty glass marbles.

Nebula moves first, taking Eddie’s arm and pulling him up. “We have to go.”

Eddie gives Tony one last look, then picks up the bomb, and turns away.

_2018_

_Eddie wakes half knotted into the bedclothes, Venom wrapped so tight around him he can’t see, breathing him in with every breath. Home. He closes his eyes and feels the tears soak into Venom’s skin._

_Nebula starts back to herself, and looks up at the throne, the face of the woman who had been her sister. “General Gamora.” She kneels, steels herself. “I bring grave news for the future of the universe.”_

_And Tony Stark jerks awake in New York, screaming._

 

* * *

 

_The year we know, is wrong. It is not 2018. It is actually 2023, and no one knows. The world ended five years from now, in ash and dust-_

Eddie closes his eyes and leans back against the sofa, letting out a long slow exhalation.

“You still want to do this?” Venom rests on his shoulders, looking around his neck.

“I just-“ Eddie rubs his face, “I’m never going to be able to tell anyone about this. If I tried they’d just say- it wasn’t real.”

“It was.” Fuck, but Eddie loves Venom; the words sink in and ground him, certainty when the world threatens his weak grasp of reality.

“If I write it down, it’s a bit more real but at the same time, it doesn’t hurt as much. Like if I can put it on a page, it can’t be too awful, right?”

“And you get to write something that’s true for a change.” Venom smiles.

“Yeah, that’s a nice extra,” Eddie sips his coffee, and looks back at his laptop. “After all these ghosts and alien sightings and Bigfoot getting spotted in a spa.”

 _After an alien wiped out-_ a pause, a deep breath- _half of all life in the universe_.

He’s not going to go into too much detail, he and Venom won’t appear- fuck, but he can’t even _think_ about that, let alone write it- but it’ll make a decent article, enough to get another paycheck. It’s not much- but then, they haven’t needed much, this last week. They get their food online, and most of the money can go to paying off their bills.

It’s- quiet. Blissfully quiet. The asshole across the hall is apparently not a total asshole, and the most they’ve heard are a few acoustic attempts at Led Zeppelin. Everything else is- going to bed, getting up in the morning, writing a few new articles, cooking something simple for dinner, and bed again.

And Venom. Everything with Venom. The quiet bedrock to his life, the scaffolding holding him up, the murmuring voice of love in his heart. And if the nightmares still wake him screaming in the middle of the night, clawing at his arms and so terribly _empty_ and alone-

Well. Then he’s awake, at least.

 _The Mad Titan was destroyed with the Infinity Stone, time rewritten so he never lived long enough to hurt anyone, and the last survivors used the stone to bring the world back to what it was, long before the terrible war, and the end of the world_.

Okay, done. There’s no evidence, but Time Cube Theory, Reptoids and everything Illuminati don’t have any evidence behind them either, and they do pretty well. The conspiracy website wanted unique stories- he’s pretty sure no one’s heard this one before.

“Eddie?” Venom nudges him. He’s hungry, and Eddie made a promise.

Still, even the thought of going out hurts. Eddie saves his first draft, and closes the laptop. “Can you-“

 ** _Of course_** , he slips back inside, and Eddie feels him wrap just along the surface of his skin, like a warm hug. His body bulks up a little, a tangle of muscles pressing tight against his shirt and pants, Venom sliding along his hands, nails a little too long, a little too sharp. Inside his mouth and his teeth start pressing heavy and knife-like against the inside of his lips. **_Us_**.

“Yeah.” Eddie pulls his boots on over suddenly clawed feet. “Let’s go eat a gangster.”

Venom pulls their lips back, a smile to reveal their massive teeth.

They stay off the main streets, and catch the guy just a block away from Ms Chen’s. Once, Eddie had pulled back and let Venom take the fore. Once, he’d tried not to think about Venom’s taste in meat. Now it seems- ridiculous. This guy is five years dead, and too stupid to know it.

The gangster flinches when he sees them, eyes darting from Eddie’s eyes, his teeth, the mangled ruin of his arms and the massive claws dangling from his hands. “What the fuck-“ he grabs for his gun.

Once, that would be the cue for Eddie to curl away back inside them. Now, the slavering jaws are _theirs_ , the hanging tongue is _theirs_. The massive swirl of black forming them huge and terrifying, the ears ringing with the shriek, the claws rending blood and the teeth crushing bones-

Those are _theirs_ , and Eddie can’t ever imagine wasting another minute of his life not being entirely _with_ Venom, in every way he can.

They lick their claws clean fastidiously, and rub the blood from their muzzle. Venom starts to retreat, the black flickering away from their skin, the claws starting to shrink-

“No.” Eddie whispers. “This- I need this.” He needs to _see_ Venom is here, with him.

Venom pauses, and the claws come back, just a little too long and sharp to be human. **_We need this_**. Claws to cut down those who would hurt them, teeth to bite their heads off, the wrapping strands of Venom to hold Eddie safe from the terrors of the world.

A reminder that they are together, that they are safe. And maybe that’s a little too comforting, and Eddie risks a step around the edge of the alley, glancing at Ms Chen’s shop.

 ** _Eddie?_** Venom nudges. **_Chocolate?_**

 _We’ve got some at home_. He can see the tension in Ms Chen’s shoulders, waiting for the gangster who’ll never come.

 ** _But we used to do this_**. Venom sounds wistful. Ms Chen had been one of the few people who’d known about him, with whom they never had to hide. He’d liked it here.

 _She can’t know_. Eddie reminds him, _We- we need to stay safe_. His heart aches.

Venom shivers, **_Still want chocolate_**.

 _We can do that_.

Ms Chen glances at him when he walks in. “Eddie? It’s been a-“ she stops, stares. “Eddie?”

“Hi.” Eddie’s teeth catch on his lips, slur a little. “You look good.”

“You look-“ words fail her, she shakes her head. “Better than last time.” She says finally, trying to smile.

Last time? Oh. “Is Maria-“ he’d almost forgotten about her, he hadn’t been- keeping it together too well, before.

“She got a room with the money you gave her.” Her smile is a bit more genuine. “She’s got a job stacking shelves in a supermarket.”

Eddie closes his eyes. Dead, five years ago. Dead and still alive. It’s still strange but- in a good way. He’s seen so many people die, and this time, Maria won’t be one of them. “What do you want?”

“Sorry?” Ms Chen frowns.

 ** _This one, Eddie_**.

Eddie gets a packet of Hershey’s kisses, trying to ignore the customers staring at him. When they get back to the counter, Ms Chen’s pulled herself together a bit more. “You’re a few decades too old for a goth phase, Eddie. Who’s going to hire you like this?”

“We have a job.” Eddie tries to smile with his mouth closed, but the edge of his canines push out just a little anyway. “We write true stories no one really believes, so it’s all the same, really.”

“Yes.” She’s looking at them sideways. “My brother-in-law knows a good dentist, you should see him.”

Eddie opens the packet, and slips Venom one little kiss after another as they make their slow way home. Some are even chocolate.

Maybe-not-asshole across the hall cracks his door open when they come back in. “Oh.” He stares. “Uh- hi.”

“Hi.” Eddie smiles, and doesn’t bother to hide his teeth.

“Feeling better?” The guy huddles back behind the door like a shield.

“A bit. **And enjoying the quiet**.” Venom puts in through Eddie’s throat, voice dropping to a growl.

“Oh yeah, sure. No problem.” The door slams shut.

Eddie smiles and closes the door behind them and sits on the sofa. Okay. That- was okay. They hadn’t screamed or started crying or- anything. Maybe they’re getting better. Maybe, with time-

There’s a heavy knock on the door.

It makes them both jump. Venom pulls free of Eddie’s shoulders and hisses, tongue hanging out. Who? Not their neighbor, that’s for sure. “Did someone follow us?” Eddie hisses.

“Not sure.” Venom looks ashamed. “We were distracted.”

“We both were.” Eddie steps closer, looking at the door. It rattles again with the force of the knocking, and there’s a scratching sound against the lock.

“Eddie,” Venom breathes, “That smell-“

The lock clicks, and the door bursts open.

 

* * *

 

 Phage’s tendrils slide back inside her, and Dora can feel the burst of smug pride from her- passenger. That vaunted human ingenuity, nothing before a Klyntar’s-

 _Yes yes now please shut up!_ Dora shoves her back and looks around. The room’s tired and a bit shabby, scuffed floors and furniture that looks like it had been scavenged off the street. And Brock, standing in the middle of it all, staring at her.

With _four_ eyes.

God, but Drake was _right_. He is a perfect host for the symbiote. Specimen A01 is wrapped around his shoulders; its massive, heavy head peering at them. The huge white eyes narrow. “Phage.”

She can _feel_ Phage tense inside her, the huge mouthful of teeth grinding against her collarbone like a terrier with a chew-toy. **_Venom_.** The memories rush fast and blinding- _weak, pathetic, cringing host sympathizer-_

“Shut up!” She yells and presses both hands to her head. Brock hesitates and pulls her inside, shutting the door behind them.

“What are you doing?” A01 looks at Brock in alarm. “Phage is inside her-“

And Dora is _never_ going to get used to the feel of Phage pulling out of her shoulder, like a joint popping, only all over her body. “You should be scared! You have been _such_ an aggravation! _Days_ spent wandering trying to find you instead of cataloging this planet-“

“Shut up!” Dora hisses, flapping her hands, but Phage is on a roll.

“Everything we saw here! Plants, animals- and all ignored so I could find _you_! They have mammals that can _fly_ , you absurd idiot! Fly! Do you know what this discovery could mean-“

“I know!” Dora grabs Phage with both hands, pulling her back. She seethes between Dora’s fingers, but at least keeps quiet. “I know.” She continues, gently. “But you have to calm down.” She scowls at Brock and A01, “Have you any idea of the _mess_ you made?”

“The mess _we_ made!” A01 swarms forwards, lean and sleek black to Phage’s mottled blue.

“You killed two dozen people!” Dora hisses. “We had to burn down most of the complex to get rid of the evidence! All that _research-_ “

“What about those you killed?” Brock speaks for the first time, he looks a lot better than the last time she saw him, but Dora can see the coiled madness inside him, glimmering through his eyes. “All those people- and they- they were starving. Eating the people from the inside out, then burning-”

He breaks off, turning away and burying his face in A01's coils. Dora catches her breath, the awful guilt clinging to her. Body after body, wheeled down to the crematorium, Drake murmuring in her ear assuring her that this was all for the greater good, they were getting closer to the breakthrough, and anyway, who’d care about these poor people-

“That’s why I wanted to find you.” She says at last, more than a little bitter. “I wanted you to blow it open, expose what Drake was doing. I didn’t expect you to just- walk in yourself.”

“And how many more were going to die?” Brock’s fingers dig into A01, pulling him close. “Starving, and burning-”

“Shh.” A01 turns to him, curling around Brock like a comforting cat.

Phage is quite still inside her, but- she knows. Brock is right; they hadn’t been feeding the symbiotes correctly. Phage had tried to keep her host alive, hoping for a chance to escape, but hunger had driven her to feed more and more-

“We’re not here to argue.” She says finally. “I- we- need your help.”

“Eddie,” A01 speaks again, crouched low around Brock. “This is Phage. Our- Team Scientist. This is not _safe_ , Eddie-”

“Eddie?” Phage looks from A01- Venom- to Brock. “This is what you were shouting about in the laboratory?”

Dora blinks; _what?_ And suddenly she’s- somewhere else. Some _thing_ else. She can’t see, but the world lights up in a thousand shades of vibration. Venom is huddled in his jar, swirling irritably over and over as he had been for days and-

And then he stops, shivering for a moment as a brief shimmer of green light flashes across him. Phage is about to call out to him but-

He’s screaming, too high for humans to hear but _piercing_ to her. Desperate and wild- _EddieEddieEddie-_

“Eddie is _mine_.” Venom snarls, jerking Dora back to herself. Suddenly, there’s a _lot more_ of him, swirling up around Brock and devouring him. “ _Get back_.”

Dora recoils. They’re _huge_. Head nearly brushing the ceiling, bunched muscles and slavering teeth, huge claws opening and closing in warning. The creature they had become in the laboratory. The creature that had devoured Drake and Treese. Even Phage jerks back, tensing in shock. **_How?_**

“Calm down!” Dora’s voice wavers. “We’re not here to fight!”

“It’s okay.” The creature growls. “You can back down- **_but what if they_** \- they won’t, and we’re stronger- **_Riot had_** \- you know they don’t.”

Finally, Venom seems convinced, and withdraws, strands of black pulling away little by little until Brock is back, standing barefoot and without his jacket. He rubs his arms, and Venom draws out of his shoulders again, scowling at Phage. “Don’t try anything.” He rumbles, low and threatening.

“Where did you learn that?” Phage breathes, stunned. “Total Host Control. Riot would never have taught you that secret.”

Venom scoffs. “Like we’d resort to _that_.” He winds around Brock and- yes, that’s _fond_. Affectionate. Brock smiles and strokes him gently, confirming their suspicions. **_Host-lover_** , Phage hisses inside her, **_Corrupted, weak-_** but even in their head, it doesn’t sound confident. She’d never seen anyone do that, not so completely.

“Where is Riot?” Venom curls closer around Brock, protective. “Is he with you?”

“Do you think we’d bother with you if we had Riot?” Phage spits, “Stars, he’s probably dead. So many hosts; and so few of them viable.”

 _Riot?_ Dora pushes to Phage.

Phage shifts, uncomfortable. **_Our leader, first in command._**

“Like we’d be so lucky.” Brock puts in. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, we’ve done it once.”

“Have you told him?” Phage flares in outrage. “What else have you told him?”

“Everything.” Venom says lazily, sweeping up Brock's arm and pressing his head against Brock's. Brock smiles.

“Host Lover.” Phage bares her teeth.

“Host Fucker.” Venom grins back and Phage squawks with rage.

Dora doesn’t say anything. Hasn’t really heard anything because oh dear God, Brock’s _arms_. They’ve been- _flayed_. Most of the skin and muscle is missing in long, deep grooves running down from his elbow to over his wrist. Like something has sunk huge claws into his lower arms and just- torn them open.

Dora struggles to push back the horror and actually look at them like a scientist. The wounds are _old_ , mostly healed. Brock hadn’t had them a week ago. “What happened to you?” She whispers.

Brock glances down at himself, “Oh, Venom gave them to me.” So _casually_.

“Venom did-“

“I asked him to.” Brock runs his hands over and over the wounds; his eyes close, relaxing into the touch. “Something for us. Like matching tattoos.”

“Matching-“ Dora chokes, then swallows and tries to pull herself together. “Phage, calm down. We’re here for a reason.”

“You are an unnatural little-“ Phage hisses.

“Stop.” Dora puts a hand on her head, and Phage relapses into grumbles.

“Okay.” Brock looks at them, then sits down heavily on the old sofa. Dora can almost see him pulling himself together, he’s holding on for now. “How about you tell us what this is about?”

“LIFE.” Dora says bluntly, she moves to sit down beside Brock, but Phage yanks her away so hard she nearly falls over. **_Corrupted_** , she whispers, **_Host-bonded, no longer two but one_**. “Okay, okay.” She takes a chair and sits opposite Brock across the coffee table. “They’ve been after us for days. Treese’s bunch to begin with; and they’ve roped in the police now.”

Brock tenses, “You said you’d burnt everything down-“

“Yes.” Dora sighs, _fuck; we’ve lost so much, months of work._ “They’re playing that off as an accidental explosion. No, they’re coming after us for theft.” She gives a tired smile.

“Stealing what?”

“Them.” Dora prods Phage, who hisses. “High-grade alien technology, found by chance on a comet.”

Venom tenses, and Brock’s face spasms with rage. “Venom isn’t a _thing_.”

“A filthy little criminal-“ Phage growls.

“I know!” Dora yanks on Phage’s neck, dragging her back. _Don’t you start!_ “Trust me, I know.” She shakes her head, God, but she’s exhausted. “But that the only way we- they- could list them. As alien technology.”

Phage grits her teeth, not particularly fond of being considered on object either, “You had no idea what you had found.”

“Oh, we knew.” God, she’s sorry. Not just for the volunteers, but for Phage too. For Phage and Venom and- who was the third one? **_Agony_**. Phage puts in, suddenly subdued. Drake and his crew had dragged them off their little comet, put them in a deadly new atmosphere, and shoved them into host after host until- they would have all died, eventually. “Drake had his best people on the job, there’s no way we didn’t all know what we’d found. It makes it worse, in a way. Remember the extraterrestrial bill of rights?”

“What?”

Dora blinks, Brock is looking completely blank. “Uh, the Asgard Bill? 2012? I thought you wrote a piece on it?”

Eddie glances up at Venom. There’s no recognition there in either of them, just confusion. “I don’t remember it.”

“How ill are you?” Dora frowns, symbiosis is rough, but surely- “You remember the invasion of New York, right?”

Brock looks relieved, “The Chitauri, right?”

What? “The _Frost Giants_. Eddie, you were _there_. I saw you on TV. You were yelling at Stark.”

Brock’s hands clench into fists, his eyes close and for a moment Dora wonders if he’s going to throw a fit again, the tendons pushing up against the knotted scars on his forearms. But he draws in a breath, and Venom presses close against his cheek. “We haven’t been feeling great.”

 _What is going on?_ She pushes the thought to Phage. _Did you do this? Can you erase memories like that?_

 ** _No._** Phage murmurs. **_And if such technology existed, Venom would not have been given it._**

Dora takes a breath. “After that fiasco, the Avengers sponsored a bill guaranteeing full rights to visiting aliens. You remember that bit?” There’s no answer. “We could get the volunteers to sign off their rights, but obviously that didn’t work with the symbiotes. Locking someone in a lab and experimenting on them is illegal, regardless of if they’re human or not.”

“Eddie.” Venom murmurs, “Oh, my Eddie.” He’s wrapped around Brock, tight and rippling and Brock- God, Brock is _crying_. Blinking and blinking as the tears run heedless down his face. His hands are knotting in Venom’s coils, pulling him to his chest.

“Brock?” Dora tries, and doesn’t get an answer. “Eddie?”

Eddie shakes himself, draws in a shuddering breath and wipes his eyes. “You have rights.” His voice wobbles; Venom nuzzles his ear and whispers something Dora can’t catch. “We could- _oh god_.”

“Are you okay?” God, please let him not fall apart like in the lab, that’s the _last_ thing they need.

Thankfully, Brock closes his eyes and pulls himself together. “So- they’ve- they’ve told everyone we’ve stolen valuable alien technology, and now everyone’s looking for us.”

Dora nods; good, at least they’re all on the same page, although how much good Brock is going to be is debatable. The man doesn’t look like he could plan his way out of a paper bag. **_Useless_**. Phage spits. **_A useless man and a worthless symbiote_**.

 _Why are you so upset about that?_ Dora pushes back.

**_Unnatural, long term bonding is- weak. To rely on another like this-_ **

_And what are we doing, then?_

“But they can’t go too public,” Brock breaks in before Phage can find an answer, Dora can feel her relief. “They can’t go running to- the Avengers, or something, or it’ll be too obvious they’ve been trading in living creatures.”

“I think they have.” Dora glances at the windows, but the curtains are drawn. Good. “There’s been Avengers sightings around- not just the giant guy, others too. And if they find us-“

“Headline: _Mad aliens invade San Francisco_.” Brock finishes. Maybe he’s not completely useless then.

“I don’t know what to do.” She says finally. “Phage wants to find her leader, but even if he’s alive, who knows where he is. I can’t go home, LIFE is having it watched, and it’s only a matter of time before they find you-“

“So why not give them up?”

Dora blinks. “What?”

“You heard me.” Brock is smiling, but there’s something hard and glittering about his eyes.  “Just hand them over. They’re for the benefit of humanity, after all, and with Drake gone, maybe you can do something good with them.”

She- hadn’t thought of that. Phage huddles down inside her, and there’s a sudden burst of fear from her. The fear of those little tubes, of the air burning and hungry all around her, just waiting for the smallest crack, the final shuddering death of a host-

“No.” She says finally, and feels Phage relax. Brock smiles and- of course, this was a test. He’d never have handed over Venom. If she’d said yes, he and his symbiote would have torn them apart. “The whole thing was wrong to start with, it’s not going to get any better if we keep going.”

“Just checking we’re all on the same page.” Brock smiles; and it’s a real smile. Warm and friendly, although very tired.

“But that doesn’t help us decide what to do.” She can’t help but check the door again. She’s pretty sure they weren’t followed, but- how can they be sure? “They’re going to find us eventually-“

“So we fight back.” Brock picks up a laptop from beside him on the sofa. “Not like that,” seeing her doubtful face. “But like they are. They accuse us of theft? We accuse them of trafficking in living beings. We win because it’s pretty easy to prove.”

Or maybe Phage is right, and Brock is useless after all. “You’ll need a good lawyer.” Brock is still smiling, typing quickly on his laptop. Dora stops. “You know a good lawyer?”

“Yep.”

“Look, I don’t have any money at all. They’ve frozen my accounts and I know you can’t have much.”

“I think we can work something out.” Brock sighs, “Look, she’s damn good, and- she might not want to see me, but I think she’ll want to help.”

Dora catches her breath. Phage looks at her, doubtful. _And what if we don’t find this Riot?_ Dora frowns at her.

 ** _We can get out of here_**. She feels Phage flicking through her mind, her memories, beautiful pictures of wild places, deserts and ice-fields and jungles, the thousand myriad forms of life. **_There is so much work here, so many life forms to learn from-_**

 _I have a family!_ But God, that feels so _tempting_. They could snatch the boys when they’re coming home from school, then they could just hide in a freight ship, vanish over the horizon and-

 _We can’t_. LIFE would never let them go.

Phage slumps inside her, **_I know_**.

 

* * *

 

 Nebula closes her eyes and clasps her hands. Her body feels almost impossibly _light_ around her, the machinery of her melted away and _gone_.

Her thumbs rub over the flesh of her hands. Flesh, bones, muscles, tendons. She maps them all out, over and over, reveling in the softness, the yielding warmth of her. She hasn’t risked looking at her reflection just yet; she wants to build to it, savor the coming moment.

The distant roar of an engine makes her start- but it’s just a squadron returning from patrol, distant silver birds in the blue-purple sky. The sky had been grey-brown when she had last been here. The smoke of Thanos’ destruction blotting out the sky. The earth scorched and burned.

Like Earth. Like Karaman and Xandar. Every world was the same after Thanos came.

He had not come here. Would never come here. She had tracked his corpse down on that forgotten planet, the shattered bones of an anonymous half-grown monster, dead before it could murder.

It's gone. But still, the fear clenches inside her. She has to know. She has to make sure once and for all that it will _never_ happen.

Nebula looks bleakly across the beautiful garden. The water runs in soft, soothing ripples. The bushes bloom red and shimmer-white, the grass a rustling golden brown. In this world, all colours are sunset, and Nebula’s eyes ache for sleep just _looking_ at it. She had forgotten sleep, had not needed it for so long it feels traitorous to want it now.

She needs to rest. She cannot rest. The world sings siren songs of peace and beauty, lulling her to peace. It would be so easy to accept, to lie down on the plush grass and stare up into the deep, eternal sky and know it is _over_. It never was.

Her hands flit to her arms, her knees, run over her scalp. Waking up to feel hair had been so terrifying she’d cut it off the moment she had found a knife. But it’s growing back, a fine, crisp fluff just pressing free from her skin. She should cut it. She wants to let it grow.

“The garden was planted by my predecessor.” Gamora’s voice makes her jump. She turns and- _oh_ , just seeing her- tall and proud. Dressed in the long, warrior robes of a general, her hair piled up in a crown. _Sister_ , it burns on her tongue. She doesn’t speak.

“It was a parade ground, once.” Gamora continues, and comes to sit beside her. “Before our forces took to the skies, and marching and battle maneuvers were no longer necessary.”

“You have peace.” Nebula murmurs, her mouth dry, her heart aching.

She nods. “Thirty years of peace.” Her eyes turn sharper, probing. “And now you come, speaking war.”

There is too much saliva in her mouth. It’s still a conscious effort to swallow. “You believe my story, then?”

“My scientists claim _something_ has happened.” She clasps her hands, and there’s a slight tremble to them. “They have been seeing traces of it all over our system- maybe beyond.” She’s a general; her forces hunt the space between the stars for invaders. She’s used to the bigger picture, used to seeing matters on a scale most people could not imagine.

This is so much bigger than that.

She nods slowly. “It will be everywhere. Every world was touched, every living thing destroyed.”

Gamora’s face is set. She had once been so good at hiding her feelings; it had been one of the traits that had so endeared her to Thanos. Her face now is a map of fear. She takes a deep breath.

“And you know those responsible.”

“The one responsible is dead.” She had laid his skull at Gamora’s feet. “But I know those who also know the truth.” Eddie. Tony. The emotion hits her so suddenly that it takes a moment to recognize it as _loss_. She had been with them for more than an Earth year. A year travelling, struggling, mourning, fighting. The three of them, bound by loss.

Tony would love this place. All this technology, this beauty, this hope. He’d held on to hope longer than any of them, still clinging to the dream they could undo this, bring everyone back, fill the air in everyone’s lungs and rebirth the world. She’s watched that dream die when he did.

And Eddie- she wonders what he would make of this place. She wonders what he would be like, when he was whole. Wherever he is, she hopes he’s found his Klyntar love.

“You miss them.” Gamora murmurs, and Nebula smiles, blinking back tears. She could always read her so easily.

“Yes.”

“And you miss me.” Gamora continues. “You knew me, in that- other world.” She stumbles over the words, as though Nebula had simply travelled from far away, when this reality is only a few cycles old. “What were we? Friends? Lovers?”

Nebula shakes her head, has to swallow again before she can get the words out. “Sisters.”

The silence stretches, the sound of water rises as the fountains gently mist the planets. “A sister.” Gamora whispers. “My sister.”

Nebula nods, “You- have a sister, here?”

“No. But-“ she looks away. “Perhaps I always knew I should have had one.”

It’s more than Nebula had hoped for. Far more than she could ever deserve. She touches Gamora’s hand, and her fingers are firm, uncalloused by the sword.

“You believe me.”

“I believe you.”

“We must go quickly.” Nebula starts up, and sways, her body is heavy and uncoordinated around her, the ground threatening to tip away from under her bare feet. “If there is still a risk-“

Nebula stands and steadies her. “We will go as soon as we can. But it will take some time for the armies to be ready.” Her hand squeezes her shoulder, braces her against Gamora’s solid body. “Long enough for you to get some sleep.”

Nebula lets out a breath and closes her eyes. Lets Gamora gently lead her back inside the barracks. Rests.

 

* * *

 

 

_ The Red Skull Returns! _

_ Avengers Battle Hydra and Frost Giants! _

_ Full Rights for New York’s Alien Refugees! _

Admittedly, the picture under that last headline showed a handful of wounded Frost Giants, and three Asgardians. Reassuringly human-like, it’s easy to believe that these creatures should get full rights. Venom wonders if that comfort would stretch to him, strange as he is-

“It will.” Eddie murmurs, scanning through the article. “’ _Any sapient being on Earth_.’ That’s you.”

“And we can stay?”

“We’ll need to register you first, then apply for long term residence- that’s _easy_ ,” Eddie sits back, savoring every word, the delirious joy of them. “We’ll get married.”

 _Married_. Venom squirms deliciously. Eddie’s mind presses against him, full of possibilities. Full rights. _Full rights_. No need to hide. No more fear of Venom being torn away from him. They could be together, _really_ together, the way they couldn’t be even before. They could have so much-

Annie and Dan got married, two years ago. So beautiful, and for all they’d been so happy for them- the sorrow had welled in them deeper and deeper as the day went on, until they’d had to force their smiles of goodbye. So much beauty, so much happiness, never to be theirs.

“And now it can.” Eddie finishes the thought. His cheeks are damp with tears, of pure joy. They would be so happy. They keep promising this time will be better, and for the first time, it rings true.

“When can we start?” Venom winds himself around Eddie, and presses the side of his face to his.

“We start by emailing Annie,” Eddie says finally. “We get out of this as fast as we can, before LIFE starts trying to make us disappear, or the Avengers come looking for dangerous aliens.”

“Or we eat them.” Venom grins.

“ _And_ we get to explain to the Avengers that we’re completely harmless, all those deaths are just a coincidence.” Venom growls. “They’re the ones we have to register with,” Eddie reminds him.

Venom squirms and grumbles at that, not overly fond of the Avengers. There’s a twitter tag tracking them- _#avengerwatch_ , with a few blurry photos of Stark and Captain America in San Francisco. _Dangerous_ , inhuman strength and magic and the searing heat of Stark’s energy blasts-

“I know.” Eddie says softly. “But- Stark. I remember him from back there. He’s an asshole but- he was kind. He- helped.”

Venom kisses him, warm and firm and- maybe he feels a bit better too. If Eddie trusts Stark-

Eddie smiles, “Not sure I’d go that far, and anyway, they’re all going to be hard to work with."

“No.” Venom growls. Another problem- _Riot_. They’d forgotten about him but he must still be out there, hunting for them, and searching for a way back to their comet. He runs a tendril gently over Eddie’s sternum, the old scar now long gone.

Eddie doesn’t answer, but quickly types on the laptop. He flicks through the LIFE Foundations website until he reaches their news page. “ _Massive sell-off of LIFE material to recoup losses suffered due to explosion.”_

“Explosion.” Venom snickers. Did they really think people would believe such a ridiculous lie?

“Yes, _explosion_.” Skirth and Phage appear out of the bathroom, wrapped in Eddie’s towels. “We did everything to make it look like an accident; you’re sticking to that story.”

“Covering up your shit.” Eddie frowns.

“And yours.” Skirth rubs her hair dry. “You killed more than twenty people, including Treese and Drake. You think the Avengers’ll give you asylum if they knew that?”

There’s no answer to that. Venom looks at Phage. She’d always been so detached, never caring about much but her research on the latest planet. “And why are you onboard with this?”

“We hardly need a band of super-powered humans chasing us while we’re looking for Riot.”

Venom bares his teeth. Riot. Funny, he’d been terrifying, once. And although there’s still some fear there- reflexive and irrational- it’s barely there. Maybe they’ve seen so many horrors that his old team leader seems faintly ridiculous in comparison.

Eddie doesn’t feel impressed either. “Have you told her about Riot yet?” He nods at Skirth.

“She told me he’s some- leader of your group.” Skirth sits down on the sofa, picks through the old clothes Eddie had left out for her. “Thanks.”

“Have you told her what he’s planning?” Eddie doesn’t look away from Phage and she looks- uncomfortable. She works her teeth back and forth, grinding fretfully.

It’s strange, watching Skirth and Phage. Standing where they had been, five years ago. Doubting and angry and uncertain and still drawn together. Venom cocks his head at Phage; he wouldn’t have thought she would have cared much about anything but their mission, but-

“You like this planet.” He breaks in. “All those species, all that research you can do. It’ll be enough for seven lifetimes-“

“Be silent.” Phage snarls. “At least I’m not _fucking_ my host.”

“And what’s going to happen to her when Riot comes?” Eddie continues. He looks at Dora, “What’s going to happen to her?”

“What are you on about?” Skirth breathes. “Phage?”

Phage gives them both a murderous look and dives back inside Skirth, vanishing from view. “Hey!” Skirth thumps her chest furiously, “What is all this about!”

“Riot wants to bring the rest of the symbiotes here.” Eddie closes the laptop “They’ll devour everything on Earth.”

“We are a traitor,” Venom assures the horrified Skirth. “If Riot comes here, we will eat him. And you will let us,” he continues to Skirth’s stomach. He can feel Phage, curled up under Skirth’s liver. “You don’t want it either.“

 _Be silent_ , she sends to him, a tremble of vibrations that makes Skirth touch her stomach, confused. _You want to corrupt me_.

“You-“ Dora turns to Eddie, “You’re planning to give these things asylum?”

“For Venom, definitely. And you’re not going to fuck this up for us.”

“Fuck it up for _you_ \- when you just said-“ Dora splutters.

“And who brought them to the Earth in the first place? Either you’re a slaver who kidnapped members of a sapient species for experiments, or you’re an idiot who brought a bunch of murderous aliens to Earth.”

 _Not corrupt_ , Venom sends to Phage while the hosts talk.  It feels strange to speak like this, after so long. The words feel clumsy on his skin. _Free. You have a good host, she suits you._

Skirth stares at Eddie, wide-eyed as she works though all the implications. “But if they want to invade- I mean, you being a traitor is all fine and well, but what about-” He thumps her fist against her abdomen. “All she wants is to find this Riot.”

 _Is that all you want? So beautiful here, so much to learn-_  Venom sends, and sends her pictures of things he had seen with Eddie. A cityscape at night, bright-lit and beautiful. The noise of bustle of a market, the thousand smells of food. Riding with Eddie on the bike, free and tasting the wind-

 _How do you know these things?_ Phage murmurs, basking in the images. _You have barely been here a week, and there is more-_ a vibrating touch on his memories, a clutching hand grasping for more _more_ -

Riot, his blade jutting from Eddie’s chest. _No._ Eddie, falling to his knees in the dust, screaming. _No!_ Thanos, laughing. Torn from Eddie, falling to ash-

 _NO!_ He hurls back and dives back inside Eddie, taking refuge within his ribcage, the comfort of his thrumming heart.

 _Vee?_ Eddie’s mind touches his, gentle. Venom wants to pull away, he’s too raw, the memories too near the surface. He doesn’t want Eddie to see-

_I know, darling. I’m here. Come out, my love, it’s okay._

Venom peers out tentatively. Phage is out too, Dora scowling at her. “You died.” Phage growls. Venom huddles back, and Eddie’s hand pull him close, trembling. “I _felt_ it, how-“

“ _Enough_.” Eddie snarls. “That _isn’t yours_.”

Phage stops, jaw trembling. She doesn't understand, and is angry that she doesn't understand. Her eyes go from Eddie, to Venom, up to Dora.

Dora looks back. “You want to stay, I can feel it.”

“We hardly have any choice, do we?” Phage says finally, slumping down. “Fine. We do it your way. If it fails, we take your spawn and go to Patagonia.”

Venom would like to say something about unseemly affection for hosts, but Eddie pinches him gently. He swarms up and nudges gently under Eddie’s chin.

Dora nods, subdued. “Can you call their lawyer of yours and get things moving? And can we- I haven’t dared use my credit card, we’ve been on the street-“

Eddie sighs, and Venom really hopes he’ll say no. “Sure, you can stay on the sofa.”

Venom squirms irritably, because she might be trying, but she’s still _Phage._ Eddie strokes him. They’ll have a better chance of succeeding with their help, and if they succeed- oh God. Eddie smiles, pressing his head against Venom’s and filling their bond with wonderful images. Going out, not hiding, hand in hand. A date, Venom free to eat with him, side by side in a restaurant. And-

 ** _Yes_**. Venom murmurs, nuzzling him, **_Married. Always together, but not until death do us part. Forever._**

 

* * *

 

_Eddie, Dan told me about seeing you at IHOP and he’s worried about you. Were you on drugs? You need to call him._

_\- anne.waying@gmail.com 20.34 10/31/18_

_Eddie, did you get my last email? Dan is really concerned and I’m sick of seeing him so upset over you. What did you do? CALL HIM._

_\- anne.waying@gmail.com 12.45 11/02/18_

_This isn’t funny. I’m going to start worrying soon. Is that what you’re going for? Stop being an asshole and at least tell us you’re still alive._

_\- anne.waying@gmail.com 21.53 11/02/18_

_If you don’t answer by this weekend, I’m going to call the police and report you as a missing person._

_\- anne.waying@gmail.com 07.21 11/03/18_

_Eddie. I’m calling the goddamn cops_ _._

_\- anne.waying@gmail.com 09.11 11/04/18_

_What is going on? The police have been looking for you for days in connection with what happened with LIFE Foundation. What did you DO?_

_-_ _anne.waying@gmail.com 11.34 11/04/18_

_Hi Annie,_

_Sorry we’ve been out of touch. It’s been a rough week and we haven’t been checking my personal emails. We’re sorry we made you worry, we didn’t mean to. I’m really sorry about the last time we met, I didn’t mean to freak you out, and it really was just coincidence I was there. And I’m sorry. Really so sorry for everything. Dan’s a great guy; tell him we said thanks for buying our pancakes._

_I know I can’t ask but we need your help. It isn’t just me, there’s others in this and we really need a good lawyer, and you’re the best there is._

_\- eddiebrockrocks394@yahoo.com 17.34 11/06/18_

_You had better have a damn good explanation, Eddie._

_\- anne.waying@gmail.com 17.40 11/06/18_

 

* * *

 

 

Eddie rubs his arms, up and down over the still-aching scars. Venom’s is wrapped around him as a nice shirt and jacket, and that helps but- he wants to see him. Just something to _ground_ him because-

Oh, _Annie_.

“Well, you’re alive.” Annie leans back in her chair. “That’s a good start. You know I was bracing myself all week to get called in to identify your body?”

“Sorry.” Eddie sighs, and sits in the chair opposite. “’s a nice office,” he tries, “You really- um.” He stops himself in time. He can’t say this, now. Once, it would have been a nice compliment. Now, it would look like gloating, or minimizing what she’s had to deal with.

“Yes.” Annie’s lips thin until they almost disappear. She’s more- brittle now, hard-edged. She’d relaxed a lot more with Dan, and the loss of that easy confidence _hurts_.

And the coldness in her eyes, the barely suppressed anger that he _knows_ he deserves but- they went through this before _._ Annie had forgiven him, eventually. They’d been _friends_.

“Where have you been? The police have been looking for you- have you been staying on the street?”

“Nah, my place is a bit- unconventional.” Annie’s eyes bore into him and Eddie looks away, down to his arms. Venom ripples over him and teeth brush gently over his scars. Okay.

“LIFE Foundation burned down.” Annie continues steadily, “You drop off the grid for days and the police want you for questioning. What the _fuck_ did you do?”

The curse lashes at him like a whip. Eddie jerks as if it was a blow and- god, he wants to tell her. He wants to tell _someone_. More than just writing bullshit for a conspiracy website, or dancing around the memories with Venom but just to _say it_ , rip open the bloody mess inside him and have someone see it and say- _yes, this happened. Yes, you suffered_.

 ** _Eddie_** , Venom murmurs inside him.

And he can’t. He can only grit his teeth against the boiling need to _speak_ , because it would only hurt them. How could anyone believe him? He’d be called mad, and Annie wouldn’t help them and LIFE would come and-

And take Venom away.

 ** _No!_** Venom snarls inside him as he shudders, huddling in on himself. **_Never, Eddie! Tear them apart first!_**

Eddie nods, and digs his nails into his arms. The pain helps- but not enough, he needs to see it. He needs to know-

“Eddie?” Annie’s frown fades, “Are you okay?”

 ** _No, Eddie_** , Venom hisses as Eddie pulls at his sleeves, Venom shoves back, trying to stay down and hide the scars. Hide them and steal them away forever and leave him unmoored and lost in a world that doesn’t make _sense_ any more- **_Please!_**

Too late, Eddie’s managed to pull Venom up over his wrists, digging his fingers into the wounds. Here. Now. Real.

Annie takes in a harsh breath, leaning forwards. “What happened?”

Eddie closes his eyes, exhales. Venom gives up and melts away from his arms, curls up along his spine in irritation. **_Not helping, Eddie._**

“I know.” Eddie whispers. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise!” Annie gets up and walks around to stand beside him. “Who did this to you, Eddie? Was it Drake?”

“No.” Eddie looks up at her. “Don’t be scared. I wanted it.”

“You- what?” Annie slumps back against the desk. “God, Eddie, why didn’t you call Dan? He knows people; you don’t need to resort to that!”

Eddie opens his mouth to say _it’s fine, I’m not self-harming-_ but, he is, isn’t he? He can dress it up however he wants, but in the end, he’s hurting himself. “I know I need help.” He says finally, “But I can’t call Dan. Maybe after-“

“After what?” Annie’s voice rises higher, she’s confused and scared and- “ _What is going on?”_

He’s going to have to say it. It’s true enough, it’s not a lie, but there’s so much missing he feels sick with guilt for holding it back. “I went into LIFE. They wanted volunteers for medical experiments and-“

“You did _what?”_ Annie chokes and Eddie remembers- a little too late- that she had been the one hired to cover up the deaths in those experiments.

“I- wanted to take Drake down.” The lie tastes foul. “I thought, if I could stop him, or if I could get out and tell everyone-“

“You’re an idiot.” Annie says weakly, stepping back to her chair and collapsing into it. “You could have _died_ -“

“Yeah, well- Drake made that pretty clear.” Annie makes another choking noise. “And he- how much do you know about what happened?”

“Drake was doing experiments. Something went wrong and the place burned down. Did you set it on fire?”

“No. I- don’t know what happened.” Eddie takes in a breath. Lying. Lies and more lies. God, he hates it.

 ** _Marriage, Eddie_**. Venom purrs.

_You do the lying then._

“Sure.” Annie doesn’t believe him. “Look Eddie, if you signed their paperwork there won’t be much I can do. I saw the contracts they drew up for Sarah Chambers and Rob MacDonald-“

“It’s not for me.” Eddie breaks in. “It wasn’t just humans in the lab. That rocket that crashed six months ago, it was carrying life-forms. Aliens.”

Annie is listening now, laser focused. Her lawyer-side has scented blood. Eddie swallows, this bit is easier. “He had three aliens in the lab. They didn’t have contracts, they didn’t sign anything. I’m pretty sure they didn’t consent to have crazy experiences performed on them. One of them died.”

**_Agony was like Riot, I wouldn’t feel bad._ **

_That isn’t the point, love._

“The Asgard bill.” Annie breathes.

Eddie nods. “Drake was trying to make them bond with humans. Most of them didn’t work so the humans died, and the aliens- they can’t live in our atmosphere, they were dying too.”

**_Not that bad-_ **

_It was. Now shut up._

“Okay.” Annie nods, “That, we can work with, but unless you’ve got any evidence- any bodies, or files-“

Eddie smiles, and it’s a real smile. “I can do better than that.” He looks down at himself. “That’s your cue, by the way.”

Venom’s a bit more tactful this time around. Instead of forming his full head, all beautiful eyes and endless rows of teeth, he snakes out small and inoffensive, teeth hidden, eyes much larger. He’s so adorable Eddie almost melts.

It works. Annie stares. “Holy shit.” She’s stunned, but not scared. She lifts a hand and reaches out. “Can I-“

“Ask him.” Eddie nods to Venom.

Annie looks at Venom, eyes wide and shining, “Can I touch you?”

Venom leans in and touches his tiny face to her fingertips. He rubs against her nails, and lets out a soft, rumbling purr. Annie gives a small, astonished smile and scratches him the back of his head. Venom purrs louder.

“Now you’re just being ridiculous.” Eddie smiles.

“You love it.” Venom rumbles and Annie jerks her hand back.

“Sorry! I just- I didn’t know you could talk. But you’re- okay?” Annie looks at Eddie. “You said the others died but-“

“But it worked for me.” Eddie strokes Venom, “It was luck but- we were right for each other.” And it feels so _good_ to say it out loud. “When the- the chaos started, we- we managed to break out. We got away.” He stumbles helplessly over the lies, but Annie just nods.

“And that’s why they’re after you, they want their aliens back- or at least to cover up that they’ve been trafficking in sapient beings. You said there were three, one died- what happened to the other one?”

“She’s with one of the scientists. Dora Skirth, she was trying to get out of LIFE anyway, and she’s pretty okay with her alien too.” It had taken some fighting but- yeah, they were okay.

“And she’s-“

“Hiding at my place.” He hands her Dora’s phone number. “Here, if you want to get her story.”

“Okay.” Annie pulls her laptop over. “I’m going to start drafting a statement for the police and- shit, is this why the Avengers are in town?” Eddie pulls a face, and she groans. “Well, if LIFE want to get you, they’re going to have to go to court. You’ve been doing pretty good at keeping your head down, carry on doing that. Don’t give LIFE a chance to work out what we’re up to. I’ll try and push this through as quick as possible, keep them on the back foot.”

“I can try and get us more witnesses,” Eddie offers, there’s something about Annie in full lawyer mode that’s immensely reassuring, knowing someone who knows that they’re doing is picking up the pieces of his life and putting them back together.

“Good.” Annie makes a note. “We’ll have you as bait for the court case- let LIFE put down the charges and when they come in to trial-“ she gives a tight, hungry smile. “We’ll give them all the rope they need, and hang them with it.”

“What about for now? They’re looking for us, if they catch us-“

Annie’s laser glare catches him full-force. “You’re going to make _damn sure_ that doesn’t happen.”

“But-“

 “Eddie, I am being a _goddamn_ idiot for listening to you again. If you do _anything_ to fuck this up-“

“Okay, okay.” Eddie holds up his hands. “I’m sorry.” He pauses. “I mean it. I’m sorry, for- hacking your computer, and fucking everything up for you.” As good as _now_ is, there must have been a better way of getting there.

Annie pauses, and huffs out her anger. “Good.”

Venom nips his ear. “We’ll make sure he behaves.”

That gets a smile. “ _Him_ , I might not mind representing. Control yourself, Eddie.”

“I will.” Eddie sighs; pressing his cheek against Venom’s and- fuck it. He’s lied so much, he’s going to say _something_ that matters. “When this is over, we’re getting married.”

Annie doesn’t even blink. “That’s probably the most sensible decision you’ve made for the last six months, Eddie.”

And Eddie _grins_ , a bright burst of happiness welling inside him until he wants to just _laugh_. Oh God, he’s missed Annie.

“If you’re expecting me to be shocked, I gave up on that around the time you admitted to running into LIFE Foundation.” Annie looks at him, resigned but- she’s a bit relieved there too. “Ever since I met you, I’ve been half expecting you to up and marry a stranger you met a week ago.”

 _I love you_. Eddie smiles helplessly. Venom squirms happily, showing off his teeth in a dazzling smile; “You’re invited. Dan too.”

“We’d better be. I’m expecting a full bar and buffet.”

“Chinese or Italian?” And oh she’s _smiling_. She’s smiling and he’s smiling and it’s not much but it’s _something_. For a moment, he can reach through the lost five years and _touch_ someone.

“I’ll check with Dan and get back to you. What about you? Any preferences?”

“Tater Tots and chocolates.” Venom nods happily.

“We’ll have a chocolate fountain.” Eddie agrees.

“Okay, you go away and plan your wedding.” Annie waves them away. “Please try and stay away from the Avengers. I know they’re not your favorite people, but right now the last thing we need is more attention.”

Eddie feels the smile threaten to emerge again. “We’ll be good.”

“And Eddie?”

There’s an edge to his name, and Eddie doesn’t move, waiting.

“Don’t fuck this one up.”

Eddie shakes his head. No. Not this time. God, how many chances could one person get? “Thank you.” He murmurs, and isn’t sure who it’s directed to.

 

* * *

 

When they leave, Eddie hurries into an alley. “Get out here.” He pants.

Venom has barely pulled free when Eddie grabs him with both hands, and slams their mouths together. Venom is still for a moment, then groans happily and kisses back. Venom’s teeth press almost painfully into Eddie’s lips before warm, alien skin washes over the hard lines of not-bone. Eddie hums happily, opening his mouth to press his tongue against Venom’s mouth.

 ** _Hungry, Eddie?_** Venom lets him in, and Eddie shivers as his tongue traces over the edge of those razor-sharp teeth.

 _Starving_. Eddie grins. _Oh darling, we got Annie back_.

“Of course we did. We always said we would.” Venom pulls black, and licks his cheek.

Eddie pauses, then laughs, rubbing the wet spot. “Only took us five years.” He chuckles.

“You loved her.” Venom traces beautiful claws down Eddie’s cheek.

“Still do,” Eddie kisses him, “She was my best friend, maybe she’ll be again. God, Vee; we’re _coming home_.”

“No, _better_ than home.” Venom presses their heads together. “No more hiding, Eddie. No more lies.”

“No more eating people.” Eddie digs his fingers into Venom’s coils, pulling him closer.

That gets a huff. “ _Fine_.”

“Not going to argue?” Eddie teases, winding Venom’s coils between his fingers.

“More chocolate. A _lot_ of living meat.”

“We’ll buy up the pet shops.” Eddie draws his fingers to his mouth and starts licking Venom’s coils, sucking the tendrils into his mouth. “And start our own chocolate business, just for you.”

“Hmm,” Venom shivers, pulling out more tentacles to wrap around Eddie, playing over his shoulders and the small of his back. “Moonlighting as wedding planners?”

Eddie shivers. “God, yes.”

“A white dress for you, Eddie?” The claws trace over the shell of his ear, the tentacles slip down under the edge of his pants. “Or do you want to see us in lace and flowers?”

“You choose.” Eddie licks his cheek. “In lace and flowers, or whatever you want. I’m not wearing anything but you.” Venom hisses, raking his claws down to Eddie’s chest. “All over me.” The tentacles brush over the swell of his ass, slipping between his cheeks. “Right down to my underwear, you’ll be able to feel how hard I am-“

“Eddie.” Venom breathes.

“I’ll want you so much,” Eddie presses his mouth against Venom’s jaw, sucking hard. “Every moment, all I’ll be thinking of is having you bend me over the altar-“

And Venom is kissing him, almost _drowning_ him with that tongue, saliva filling his mouth, running down his throat. The tentacles trace over his hole, more snaking over his hip and wrapping snug and warm around his cock.

 _Fucking me._ Eddie murmurs in their head. _So hard and deep I can feel it in my throat. Pinning my wrists so I can’t move, gagging me with your tongue._

“No.” Venom pulls his tongue free. Eddie chokes and shudders, thrusting into the tentacles gently circling and teasing his cock and back into those slowly pumping in and out of his ass, the tips just _barely_ tickling his prostate. “I’ll let you talk, they’ll need an answer.”

Eddie groans as Venom’s tentacles tighten a little, pushing a little further in until Eddie’s gasping and bucking back against him, searching for that perfect, delicious _touch_ that’ll shatter everything into stars. “What-“

“The answer, my Eddie.” Venom purrs, and Eddie almost sobs. “’Will you take this symbiote as your lawful wedded mate-‘“

Eddie tries to laugh, but the tentacle around his cock tightens and squeezes, dipping into the slit and milking the pre-cum. “ _Fuck-_ “

“’To have and to hold from this day forwards-‘“

The tentacles inside him swell, suddenly filling him almost to the hilt, and suddenly his prostate is being _kneaded_ , stroked and squeezed until he’s thrusting blindly against Venom, wailing.

“’-for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health-‘“

Eddie nods furiously, yes yes please _yes_ \- and he’s so hard it _hurts_ and he jerks as the tentacle slips down _inside_ his cock, licking and sucking all the way down-

“’-to love and to cherish, forever and ever and ever until the stars burn out.’” Venom finishes, and licks at the corners of Eddie’s eyes. “You’re crying, love.”

“ _Fuck_ - _“_ Eddie whispers. Split open, Venom inside him so deep he’s _everywhere_. He’s everything. “I love you.”

“Say yes.”

“Hell yeah.” Eddie closes his eyes and spasms as Venom’s tentacle slowly pulls out of his cock and he’s close, he’s so close. “Yes, yes oh please now oh- _oh-_ “

And he’s coming, hot and hard and desperate in Venom’s tentacles, and he’s pounded and stroked and teased and milked and suckled until he’s slumped against Venom, legs shaking too hard to carry him. “I love you.” He mumbles. “I love you I love you I love you.”

“Yesss.” A long slow lick over the back of his neck. “Our Eddie. Ours forever.”

“’Til the stars burn out.” Eddie agrees.

 

* * *

 

Maria answers the door with a frown, which clears when she sees them. “Eddie.”

“Hey.” Eddie smiles, “Can we come in?”

She stands aside. It’s not much of a place. It isn’t really a place at all, just a tiny plywood cupboard barely big enough for a bed. It creaks and sags when Eddie sits on the end of it. “You’re looking good.”

She is. Four walls and a roof have done wonders, her face is a little fuller; the raw, sandpapered texture of her skin smoother and softer. “This place costs the Earth.” She grumbles, and sits beside him. “You’re better. Found your guy?”

“Yeah.” Eddie runs a hand over his arm, over Venom, wrapped around him like a jacket. “Wasn’t easy. You got a job?”

“Works better when you can give an address. Hope you’re not expecting a drink, I’m living off tapwater and ramen.”

“Here.” Eddie pulls out a handful of notes. The lost time conspiracy’s gone down surprisingly well, and he got a small bonus. “Get yourself an apple; you don’t want to get scurvy.”

Maria takes the notes, flicks through them slowly. “You want something, Eddie?”

“Taking down LIFE.” Eddie nods. “I’m trying to find witnesses for what they’ve been doing. There’s going to be a court case.”

Maria hesitates, and Eddie know what she’s thinking. It’s a little unspoken code among the homeless. No snitching, keep your head down and don’t attract attention. “You know me.” Eddie continues. “It’s just as a witness. All I want is for you to tell a lawyer what you saw. Just that. You can decide if she wants more.”

“I never went in, you know that.” She says finally. “And I haven’t seen anyone who went in.”

“Anything you can do to help.” Eddie says firmly, “You remember the bit I did on the police harassment case? Like that, but not even on camera.”

Maria’s shoulders relax a little, the little reminder that Eddie’s _safe_. He’s on their side. “I’ll- try. I’ll see if I can find anyone else who knows anything.”

Eddie looks at Maria- really _looks_ at her. She’s had a few decent meals, she’s warm and safe. His hand jerks forwards and for a moment he’s half convinced it’s going to touch freezing glass. Maria huddled up in hospital scrubs in an arctic room, Venom struggling to keep up her body temperature and devouring her from the inside to keep them both going. The shattercrack of glass under the fire extinguisher.

Maria looks up, frowns. “Eddie?”

“Just- thanks.” He swallows down a lump in his throat, feels Venom nuzzle him comfortingly. She was dead. She died bringing them together and now Eddie’s repaid her with her life. It’s- good. It’s _right_. “Thanks for everything. We- couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Get lost.” Maria smiles. “Go on, run off and find your next lead. You can buy me groceries next time.”

“Deal.” Eddie gets up, resting a hand for a few moments on her shoulder.

There’s a flicker of something in her eyes, and she shakes her head. “What-“

“See you.” Eddie steps outside, closes a cheap, badly fitting door behind them. “Anything?”

 ** _A few viruses. A bacterial infection in her lungs_**. Venom grimaces inside him. **_Gone now_**.

“Good.” Eddie rubs his knuckles over their breastbone. “She deserves it-”

There’s a deafening _roar_ above them.

Venom flashes up around Eddie, two into one so quickly Eddie’s mind spasms, caught between two awarenesses. _Riot_? They tilt their head up- but whatever was there is gone.

 ** _What else?_** Venom bares their teeth. **_How many other monsters are left now?_**

Eddie remembers the newspaper photos, the strange blue giants, the Red Skull in tattered Nazi garb, screaming on top of the Empire State building. This time has its own horrors.

 ** _Eat them all_**. Venom snarls and launches them at the nearby wall. Their claws dig into the old brick and they pull themselves up, hand over hand, to the roof.

 _Stay down_ , Eddie warns, pulling them into the cover of a nearby chimney. _They might be looking for-_

He breaks off; he doesn’t need to say more. They're looking for something. Maybe they're looking for them, but Eddie can’t say more, can’t breathe.

Because that’s _Stark_.

He’d- never seen the Iron Man suit. He’d been out of New York by the time that had become a thing, and Stark had never gone to San Francisco. And of course-

It’s like a kick in the back of the head, Eddie shudders, memories coming hard and fast. The crashed spaceship, Stark struggling free in broken armor. Struggling to piece together their last weapon, Stark swearing as the blowtorch spluttered and spat, the oxygen growing so thin it couldn’t light. That last evening, sitting together in the old bunker- “ _We don’t have a power source”_ \- Stark’s smile, reaching a hand to his chest-

 ** _Eddie,_** Venom winds around him, holding them steady. Eddie tries to break free, but the memories don’t let go. The trailing wires, the arc reactor glimmering like a star in Stark’s dead eyes. One more death, the bodies piling higher and higher until they blotted out the sun, until he couldn’t _walk_ without stepping on a corpse.

 Venom drops them back over the edge of the roof, pulls away from Eddie’s face so he can be sick. Venom ripples over him gently, relaxing the spasming muscles of his back and abdomen. **_Eddie Eddie Eddie, here Eddie, safe, now._**

Eddie nods; swallows a few times, shuddering at the taste of his own bile. He draws in a breath- _please_ -and Venom encloses his head again, tucking him close and warm inside them. **_Better?_**

 _Yeah_.

**_Good. Now, what are they doing here?_ **

They look out over the edge again. Stark is drifting high above the rooftops with- someone. There’s another person there too. Someone else flying close beside Iron Man, his hands glowing gold. He isn’t wearing armor, just a sort of- absurd cloak.

**_What is that?_ **

He- knows him. It’s _that guy_. That surgeon who ran off to become a wizard. Because that’s a career option now. Strange, that was the name. He leans over and says something to Stark, who nods. They start to drift away, down the hill towards Tenderloin.

**_Go after them?_ **

They creep carefully across the roof. Below, people are starting to point and shout at the visitors, cameras flashing. They duck back, dodge across an alley. Stark and Strange aren’t in any hurry, and they can follow, keeping low and out of sight.

Then there’s a main road, Eddie’s not sure where they are, Fell or Market. The two just fly across, not paying attention to the traffic screeching to a halt below, the hundreds of phones pointing up at them. Eddie and Venom grind their teeth, _too obvious_. Annie will kill them if they get into too many photos.

_On the left!_

Something is moving from a connecting street. The crowd turns to look, and they move in a flash. They brace their legs on the side of the building, and launch themselves out. There’s a brief shout as they clear the street, but then they’re on the far side, and ducking behind a rooftop vent.

**_What was that?_ **

_Don’t know_.

Stark is hovering just above the neighboring roof, head down and talking to someone just out of sight. Strange is ignoring them, and continuing to float away. Fuck, they _are_ heading to Tenderloin. It could just be a coincidence, but-

 ** _They are looking for us_**. Venom murmurs.

Their tongue lashes out, running over their teeth. Dora had found them, it’s not impossible the Avengers could do so too, but Eddie’d been _careful_ , maybe even paranoid after the first interview fiasco. How do they know where he is?

 ** _Closer_**. Venom swings down and across the alley, and creeps up just high enough to peer across the next roof. There is someone with Stark- some _kid_ in blue and red pajamas. They’re too far away to hear, and both of them are wearing masks. Eddie growls low in their throat, and risks pulling them up and over, keeping low in the shadow of the chimney vents.

“-not much left by now.” The boy chirrups. “Picked clean by the suits and- there’s a lot of homeless people here.” It’s faintly accusing. Eddie can’t help but smile, good kid.

“Yeah, I know.” Stark’s voice crackles from his mask. “When we’re done, I’ll kick off the _Spiderman Homeless Initiative,_ deal?”

Oh.

Spiderman.

He’d heard about the kid, most of it from Stark. He’d died too; right there in Stark’s arms, the way he told it. And- oh god but he’d- he wouldn’t wish that on anyone else. He knew that so, so well.

 ** _Shh, Eddie_** , Venom murmurs. **_Here_**.

It’s better, like this. When they’re one, the shadows are just that little bit easier to push away. Focus, Stark is still talking.

“Did you hear anything?”

“A couple of people said they saw something.” The boy shrugs. “The guys they were taking for testing got out, and-“

He trails off, Venom tenses. _Shit_.

“There was this- huge black monster thing.” Spiderman continues. “They said it killed a whole bunch of guards.”

 _Shit shit shit_.

“Maybe they were making monsters, like HYDRA?”

And Stark- Stark just _shrugs_. “It was a long shot. I don’t suppose they said where it went?”

“Into the bay, I think. I heard of something going on around the airport, but I didn’t see anything.”

“Probably halfway to China by now. Oh well, if it pops up again, we’ll be on it.” They look up at Strange, who’s hovering a few streets away, gold swirling around his hands in delicate patterns. “Hey Gandalf!”

“Shut the fuck up, Stark.” Strange doesn’t look up, but slowly turns to face them. “We’re close.”

The gold patterns expand, pulse as though breathing. Strange’s eyes slip closed and he sits in mid-air, like some new-age yogi who was actually worth the money. His cloak ripples, and parts as something pulls free. Some sort of- necklace, or pendant?

Spiderman starts humming; _we’re off to see the wizard-_

“Not now.” Stark shakes his head; and the boy shuts up, looking hurt.

Honestly, he’d half thought _Stark_ would be the one making snide remarks, this is patently ridiculous-

Then the pendant twists, just above Strange’s hands, and starts to glow.

 _Green_.

Eddie can’t breathe, can’t move. His eyes burn with it, the light searing through them, plunging through his skull and his brain just- jams. _No no nononono-_

He’s crawling in the dust, struggling for a mouthful of air. The gem gleaming a few feet away, winking, taunting, promising. It’s in his hand, and he’s _burning_ , igniting from the inside out. His eyes burst in his skull, and dry and blacken. His teeth crack and pop in his mouth as the blood in the roots boil. He’s dying, dying forever and never quite dead-

**_EDDIE_ **

Eddie jerks back to himself. They’re several streets away, lying on a fire escape. The sky is glorious blue above, and the air thick and heavy in his throat. Venom is lashed around him, not quite one, but so close he can feel him inside and out. “What-“

And oh, oh _god_.

He- hadn’t thought the Gems still _existed_. He thought they’d just- gone. Like that time, that dead world. But Thanos had gotten them from _somewhere_ , hadn’t he? And Strange had the Time Gem.

 ** _They didn’t see us._** Venom stokes his cheek with a claw. **_They are gone. We are okay_**.

No. No they are _not_ okay. They are not going to be okay again until- until-

“Where did they go?” Eddie sits up- and freezes.

He’s glimmering green. The energy of the gem is coursing over him like water, tracing rivers over his skin.

Everywhere it touches, it’s like his skin is- translucent, see through down to the starving, skeletal body of before. The scars old and gnarled, the spindly limbs claggy with ash.

 Eddie can’t move. _No. Oh please no. Please kill me end this stop it before it takes me back please KILL ME PLEASE **-**_

“Eddie!” Venom digs his claws into Eddie’s shoulder, and his own panic is drowned out by the desperate, screaming **_No_** in Venom’s head. “No! Never! Not going anywhere!”

“But-“ he looks down at his arm and- it’s fading. The green is a little less bright, the rivers of light slowly drying up. He doesn’t dare breathing, watching as the fresh red scars on his arms slowly appear through the green, overlaying the shadow of his old self.

“No.” Venom begs. “Please Eddie. Stay here. Won’t let anyone take you away.”

Eddie presses his face into Venom’s coils, glad he doesn’t have anything left to throw up.  He closes his eyes, and doesn’t open them again until Venom nudges him, and the green is gone.

“Eddie.” Venom moans, curling around him. “No, please Eddie.”

Eddie wants to say it’s okay. He wants to say he’s just- a bit crazy now, and was having a bad moment. He wants to say he didn’t mean it.

He can’t.

Venom shudders. “We’ll eat them.” He bares his teeth. “We’ll kill them and _smash_ the gem and you’ll never think that again.”

“Yeah.” Eddie catches his breath. “I- oh Vee. I can’t. Please. I can’t go back. Please, I’d just die back there anyway. Please, if I die, I want it to be you.”

“ _Eddie_.”

“Please.” Eddie closes his eyes, kisses Venom. “Please, maybe if you do it- you can find me again.”

Venom doesn’t answer, but wraps up around Eddie, building them huge and fearless and terrifying. Big enough not to be frightened of a stupid gem. **_We will not die._** Venom snarls. ** _Never think that. Will never allow it._**

Eddie sighs, but lets Venom lead them to the edge of the roof, and bound out over the street below. The Avengers are gone.

 ** _We know where they went_**. Venom says grimly.

Yes. They do.

 

* * *

 

This place is pleasant, Phage decides. It makes little difference to her, equally comfortable on a comet as on Brock’s couch, but it’s important to Dora. She is a true mammal, preoccupied by staying warm and finding a safe nest. Currently she’s engaged in building one for both of them, a nest within a nest, a place for them in Brock’s home. A minor territorial aggression.

“I’m not a wolf.” Dora mumbles, straightening the pillows on the pull-out couch.

**_Of course not, I know your taxonomy. You are human, with human instincts._ **

“I hope I’m more than that.” Dora kicks off her shoes, and lies down on the bed with a groan. Sleeping in an actual bed has done wonders for her mood.

“Shut up and enjoy, you like it too.”

 ** _Host-bleed_** , she retorts, unable to resist the urge to soak out of Dora and bury herself in the fluffy blankets. **_I like it because you do_**.

“So if you were in a dog, you’d want a- basket?” Dora smiles slowly. “You’d want to fetch sticks?”

 ** _Never going into a dog_**. Phage shudders at the thought of the clumsy, slobbering things. **_Absurd creatures._**

“Well, I’m a cat person, so maybe that’s host-bleed too.”

…no. The man she’d been in before had loved dogs, and she’d still hated them. The memory of those _paws_ smearing filth on his shirt, the tongue slapping red and wet on his cheek, the _smell_ \- Phage tries not to shudder. Ugh.

Dora is listening in, curious. “Maybe that’s why we fit,” she smiles, “Maybe it isn’t host-bleed, or not just that. You’re like me. We’re scientists, we’re curious, we don’t really care about anything beyond our research, we like cats. Could it be a- psychological match, as well as biological?”

Phage doesn’t have an answer to that. She looks around the apartment. They’re glad to have somewhere to stay, but it doesn’t even _compare_ to the pictures of the handsome penthouse Dora has in her memories. _That_ is all wood and steel and glass, with interesting books and trinkets in every corner, and the odd toy and child’s drawing adding a bit of colour to the picture.

 _This_ place is run down and grubby. The trash can stank so bad Dora gave in and took it out herself. The furniture is old and tattered, the television out of date. Yet, there’s something- comfortable about it, worn in and soft around the edges. Loved, despite it’s pathetic state. It suits Brock, just like Dora’s home suits her.

It suits Venom too, Phage thinks, he fits perfectly here, like a mollusk in its shell. She has not seen Dora’s home yet, but she thinks- she thinks-

She could be happy there.

“We’ll go there.” Dora sits up, looking down at Phage. “This Annie will get everything sorted out, and we’ll go back. You’ll meet Jamie and Darren.” Her smile is sad, “They’ll like you, they love aliens.”

“Hrrm.” Phage forms a head, smiles. “They have never met aliens like us.”

“No, but that’ll be a plus.” She lifts a hand, “They always complain the aliens in New York are cheats, too human. Can I?”

Her hand is hovering inches away from Phage’s jaws. Phage pauses and for a moment, she can’t help but think of Venom, tangling and stroking all over his host, bloated and ravenous with alien lust-

But this is just a touch, just fingertips. And she’s touched enough of Dora, it’s only fair. “Of course.”

Her fingers trace gently over her teeth, then upper jaw, then between her eyes. It feels- warm, the tiny grooves in her skin tickle a little. Phage opens her mouth, flicker her tongue out and laps over Dora’s skin, tasting salt, feeling the thousand minute textures of her skin. Fascinating.

Dora blinks, blood flooding her cheeks just below the surface of her skin. “Phage-“

Phage stops- is this too far? She isn’t Venom; she doesn’t want Dora to-

And the wall in front of them disintegrates.

Phage jumps back, pulling Dora with her over the back of the sofa and crashing in an ungainly heap to the floor. The stones making up the wall are just- coming apart. Flying away like a swarm of insects. She looks at Dora in shock- what sort of weapon could cause this? But Dora is looking back at her, with exactly the same expression, wondering if this was something _she_ was doing.

“We need to go-“ Dora chokes, and lunges to the door- and stops. She cannot move, thoughts raging in her brain but never quite reaching the muscles. Phage struggles to push them through, pull the muscles herself and _get them out_ \- but she cannot move either. They are trapped.

The creature drifts in through the shattered wall. For a terrified moment, Phage is sure it is Riot. It’s large enough, certainly, and maybe he had weapons she hadn’t made, might not even have known about-

But then it comes into view, and it is human. Not even a particularly large human, the illusion of bulk given by a heavy fall of fabric billowing around its body. Phage wraps around Dora, sinking under her skin and gathering herself. **_What is this?_**

 _I – don’t know_. Dora sounds stunned. _I’m going to kill Brock._

The human lands in the living room, and looks around it, unimpressed. It turns back to the opening, and beckons.

 _Oh shit._ Dora groans. _We’re in trouble_.

Phage doubts that’s the case; thankfully, she doesn’t seem to share Dora’s pessimism. The cloaked human looks formidable, but they can take him by surprise. The other two- well, one of them has locked himself in a tin can- ingenious, but Phage is confident it’ll just make him crunchier. The other is a juvenile, looking at them curiously. Snacks.

 _Please don’t_. Dora begs, _these guys are trouble, and we can’t move_.

Well, yes. That is a problem. Cloak human looks at them, unimpressed, and waves a hand at the door. It bangs open, and they can move again. Dora jerks free and bounds forwards-

Right into a solid _wall_ of human. They bounce off and land hard on their backside.

“Excuse me m'am.” The man’s voice is as warm and friendly as his smile. “Here.” He holds out a hand.

“Um.” Dora says helpfully. The man is wearing the most ridiculous costume Phage has ever seen, even more than the cloak or the tin can. It’s bright blue and red, with a contrasting white star, and has little wings on the side of his helmet that cannot possibly be used for flight. It’s utterly absurd.

 _That’s Captain America!_ Dora hisses in their head. _And that’s Iron Man and- shit- we must have fucked up somewhere if the Avengers tracked us down._

Ah, _them_. Dora had told her about these people. Phage sinks further inside Dora, they do _not_ need this.

 _Stay down._ Dora agrees, she forces a smile, and takes the Captain’s hand. “Hello.”

He helps her up. “Is she who we’re looking for?” The Captain turns to cloak man.

They are all looking at him. Cloak man ignores them all, fiddling with something hanging around his neck. It shimmers and flares in his hands, glowing a vivid, blazing green. It grows brighter and brighter, searing almost white at its core- then blazing out like a supernova.

Strands of green tears free from the glow, snaking out over the room, coiling around the furniture and pooling under the table, on the bathroom floor, tracing out paths over the floor before finally being drawn one by one into Brock’s bedroom, and curling vivid and blazing on the bed.

And- she’d _seen_ this before. That very shade of green, the undersea glow of it, winding and dancing over-

Venom.

Just a moment, that one moment when Venom snapped from being calm, if impatient in his tube, to screaming and trying to break free. A corona of flickering light, barely there and gone in the next instant.

“It’s here.” Cloak man’s breaks into their reverie. “It happened here- but it wasn’t her.” He grinds his teeth. “How they _hell_ did they even manage to do this?”

Dora sidles carefully away from the Captain, backing towards the door- but someone’s there now too. A woman; wearing a black leather catsuit and a look of calm lethality that stops Dora dead. Phage is about to suggest they try to break free anyway- but this one is deadly, and she still isn’t too confident of her and Dora’s ability to fight their way out.

“We could ask her.” The woman says, stepping up beside the Captain. “Who are you, and who else lives here?”

Dora’s mouth is suddenly devoid of saliva. “Um.” She looks frantically from one to the other, pleadingly. _What should I say?_ He whispers, panicked.

“You’re- Skirth, aren’t you?” Tin Can steps forwards. “I saw you on one of the spreads on Drake. You’re one of his scientists.”

 _Oh shit oh shit oh shit_ -

 ** _Calm down!_** Phage roars.

“Look.” The Captain puts in, gently. “We’re not looking to hurt or arrest anyone. But Doctor Strange here says someone here’s been messing with the fabric of reality, and all the signs point here.”

_What?_

**_What?_ **

“We just need to know what happened.” Tin Can steps forwards, and pulls up the front of his helmet. “This- someone tried to change the world.” His voice cracks, wavers. “Change it to a nightmare. And they’re still trying.” He swallows. “If they manage-“

“They won’t.” The Captain says firmly, “We’re gonna stop them, Tony.”

Cloak man- Strange- snorts, hands clenching. He certainly isn’t so confident. The light casts strange shadows, makes the room seem- old, worn and wrecked, drifted with dust. It’s like seeing two photographs, superimposed.

Tin Can closes his eyes. “God, be careful with that.”

“If I knew what he’d _done to it_ -“ The green flickers away and the world seems to- settle around them, as thought the world had breathed a sigh of relief.

“This- isn’t about the LIFE Foundation?” Dora says weakly.

“We’re happy to put that on hold until we’ve made sure reality isn’t going to unravel like a sweater.” Tin Can grits his teeth. “We need your help.”

 “I don’t know.” She says finally. “I don’t know anything that’s going on.”

“But you’ve seen things.” The woman steps forwards. “You know something strange is happening here. It's dangerous. We don't know what's been changed, or how. Anything you can tell us may help us, and we can help you.”

So much of what Brock and Venom have been doing made no sense. He didn’t remember the invasion of New York- despite _being there_. She never told him her name, and he knew it anyway. Venom screaming Eddie’s name hours before they met. _What had they done_?

Phage hesitates, **_Dora_**.

_Why do you want me to say?_

**_If they find Venom, they will find us._ **

_You know there’s something going on. You know they’re- acting strange._

**_Venom is strange, always has been._ **

_That strange?_

Venom, thrashing and screaming, the long, ululating howl of _EddieEddieEddie-_

“Who are you talking to?” The woman cocks her head.

Dora jerks out of their conversation, flushes in panic. “I’m not talking!”

“You are.” Her voice is steady, calm. “You're speaking inside your head. Who are you connected to?”

“Is it the monster?” The juvenile perks up. “Is that the one from the airport-“ Tin Can looks at him and he shuts up.

Dora looks between them, feels Phage curl inside her, tense and terrified, and her mouth is too dry to speak.

 

* * *

 

Half of the apartment is gone. The bricks hang in mid-air in a way it _hurts_ to look at, as though they’re floating underwater only- not. They bump into one and it spins in place. Inside, the whole apartment is glowing green, long serpents of light curling over their home like St Elmo’s fire.

They crawl down the side of the building head first. Venom is trying to pull them back but Eddie isn’t listening, and he’s not willing to draw back inside and let Eddie fall face-first to the sidewalk. But please-

 ** _Eddie._** Venom pleads. **_Please-_** The Avengers, too strong, too deadly. Spells and laser blasts and fists and- who knows what else, so much he’s not sure how they can fight back. How he can keep Eddie safe-

 _I know_. Eddie draws in a breath and hooks their claws over the edge of the gaping hole. Preparing to swing them in. _You saw. You know. Quiet now._

Venom growls, sub-audible but loud enough their eardrums buzz. He does know, will always remember the horror of that vanished world, echoing in the still-flickering green, just visible under the gold. Eddie edges down far enough to look in. Oh fuck, they have _Dora_. She’s sitting on the chalky sofa with the Black Widow interrogating her. “I don’t know.” She takes a glass of water from Captain America, sips it. “I keep telling you- I don’t know anything. I just broke in-“

“Shut up.” It’s Strange. He’s holding up the pendant, the gem shimmering inside. “There’s something-“

Eddie moves before Venom’s even _aware_ of it. Just a pulse of electrical impulses and they’re swinging down with horribly human howl of rage.

They slam straight into Strange and Venom jerks back to _now_ , their claws ripping out and tearing into the tangle of cloth and cloak. Strange screams and the cloak _jerks_ , pulling away from him and ensnaring their claws. Venom snarls, knotting their hands into the cloth and bunching their muscles to _tear-_ but Eddie shoves forwards and take control first. Strange is right there, under them, helpless and eyes wide in terror and for a moment it isn’t Strange at all, it’s the monster, alive and lying there just waiting for their teeth-

Eddie screams and lunges, mouth wide.

Something catches them on the back of the head, and their teeth snap inches from Strange’s terrified face saliva dripping. Eddie shrieks and tries to close, fangs gnashing, tongue lashing. Venom pushes back to the fore, manages to get a hand free from the tangle of cloak, lifting it to claw open the man-

And something snags that too. They look up and it’s- a tangle of something stringy and grey- but incredibly strong.

“Whoa- okay! Okay!” The boy braces both legs on the ground, pulling the webbing taut. “I got it!”

Eddie hurls himself blindly against the webs, Strange scrambling back on his elbows and crashing against the wall, the Gem tauntingly bright between his fingers. _So close_ they’re so close and he can’t quite-

“It’s okay Doc! It can’t get you!”

Venom snarls, and takes over. He spins them around and hurls them at the boy.

“Oh crap.”

“No! Kid-” Something hot sears their back, but they’re moving too quickly. They hit the boy full force and knock him over, bearing him to the ground with their greater weight. Venom’s about to bite through the webbing and get loose- and something shockingly hard hits them in the stomach.

It’s the boy - he’d braced his feet against their stomach, and the kick sends them flying out of the open wall as easily as if they were made of feathers. They free-fall down for a moment, jerk to a halt- then fall down the rest of the way as their weight on the webbing tugs the boy out of the apartment too.

“Peter!” _Stark,_ Eddie thinks muzzily.

Venom snarls, and bites through the webbing on their arm and the back of their neck. **_Eddie, come on_**.

Eddie snarls his agreement, and their claws sink into the wall, pulling them up hand over hand-

The now-familiar slap of webbing catches them on the back, their claws are tearing out of the wall with a scream like nails on a blackboard, and they crash back into the boy.

“Oh shit.” The boy chokes. “Oh fuck.”

“ ** _Yes!_** ” They roar with the same voice. “ ** _Get out of the way!_** ”

He jumps back, scuttling back as Venom bites through that length of web too. “Not letting you hurt the doc!”

 ** _“Move!”_** Eddie screams, spinning around and leaping up-

And the boy lands on their shoulders; he’s light but _strong_ , his arm a tangled knot of muscles around their neck. He’s squeezing so tight Eddie can’t draw breath- but that’s fine. Venom pushes oxygen directly into Eddie’s lungs, coats the inside of his windpipe to strengthen it, and they land hard on the brick work, and climb.

Stark’s ready in the apartment, repulsors aimed at them. “Get off!” He shouts at the boy. “I need a clear shot!”

They roar, and leap forwards- The boy’s legs hook them under the jaw, and they hear webs slap onto the ground behind them, pulling them up short and slamming them down like a dog on the end of its leash. “Get out!” The boy yells. “It’s after you!”

“That’s him!” Strange is plastered against the far wall, hugging his tattered cloak. “That was the one who-“

“Go!” Stark roars.

And gold light flares around his hands. A shimmering portal exploding out of nothing with a Catherine wheel of sparks and-

And he’s gone. Eddie shrieks in rage and terror but Venom can see beyond the panic and it’s not just Stark and the boy. There’s the Captain and the Widow, readying their weapons and about to charge. Behind them, Phage snatches the chance and roars up around Dora, launching them out of the door and gone.

The boy punches their shoulder. Web slaps against the back of their head, sticking them to the ground. Eddie pulls his head free from Venom’s tendrils  - and the webbing attached to it - and throws them backwards, the back of his head hitting the boy’s nose with a _crunch_.

The boy yells. Venom bites through the web and they roll free, right off the edge of the apartment and into open air, the boy scrambling on top of them to keep from being crushed when they land. They twist in mid-air, and Venom sends out a knot of tendrils to the opposite building, catching and swinging them low across the street-

Straight into a moving car.

They smash into the windscreen, roll over the hood and trunk as the driver frantically slams on the brakes, and splay across the tarmac behind it, taking the brunt of another braking car’s fender to one shoulder. The boy bounces off the front of the first car and hits the ground hard on his ass. Eddie catches the bumper of the car in one massive, clawed hand and drags it to a halt before it can run the boy over.

“You _fucking idiot_!” Eddie screams as Venom struggles to slide over his head- nothing but fragile bones between the world and the veins and brain inside- “Do you know what you’ve _done_?!”

 ** _“Move!”_** Venom roars, the Avengers are jumping and flying down from the apartment and they need to _go now_.

“He was _crying_ over your stupid corpse-“

Venom throws up more tendrils to the roof, and hauls them up before the boy can try and web them again. He clears the roof in a bound, another across the following alley and away, leap by swinging leap towards the harbor, Eddie screaming impotent rage at the sky.

 

* * *

 

Eddie closes his eyes, and pulls out his phone. He doesn’t open them at once, just feeling it vibrate in his hands. It’s only when it stops that he dares to look.

_47 missed calls._

Eddie exhales. “Want to take that one?”

 ** _This is on you_**.

“Yeah.” Eddie presses _call back_.

It barely rings. _“What did you do?_ ”

Eddie slumps back against the wall. He wants to cry, tastes tears at the back of his throat because _what can he say?_

“I’m sorry.”

“I- how could I have been so _stupid_? You haven’t changed at all, have you? Just when I think I can trust you, you have to go and- fuck it all up again.”

Eddie doesn’t answer. What can he say? It barely feels real. A few hours ago everything had been- so wonderful.

“I can’t call the case off now. It’s too late. God, I hope you like prison, Eddie, because they’re even backtracking on the explosion story. They’re going to try and nail you with that too- _twenty people-“_

Prison. Eddie wants to laugh and it comes out as an awful croak. Fuck, he’d take it. He’d make that trade if he could just _make it stop._ The gem, taunting in Strange’s hand, promising a thousand horrors renewed with just a thought. Reality so frail around it.

 ** _Shh, no_** _._ Venom runs claws over his scalp.

“ _Yes_!” Eddie roars. “You _saw it!_ You know what it can do!”

“What?!”

“Not you.” Eddie buries his head in his hands. “You saw it.” He continues to Venom. “It could bring it back, all of it. And- and-“ He can’t continue. The tears overrun his eyes; he pulls the phone away before it can get wet.

“Right.” Annie’s voice is tinny. “Court case is next Monday. You had better come if you have any decency at all- this is your shitshow, but don’t expect me to care what happens after. Go to hell, Eddie.”

The phone beeps off. Eddie stares at it, and then curls up, slowly, into a little ball. Venom winds around him, like tying up a package, but doesn’t talk. There’s nothing to say.

It’s just… too big. Too much. The weight of a world, hanging over them; close enough to touch, close enough to fall and destroy all of them. All in the hands of a man who has no idea what he holds, who could unmake them all with a thought.

He closes his eyes and lets their new reality settle in on them. Their home, their job, the fragile normality- gone. The dreams of marriage, of living safe and open- Eddie closes his eyes. Gone too. Distant as the stars. Venom moans softly, wordlessly.

 ** _Eddie_** -

 _Yes._ Eddie doesn’t open his eyes, but nods. _I’m sorry_.

Like before, where stopping the monster had become so huge and all-encompassing Eddie couldn’t even die. Couldn’t waste his own hated life, for whatever good it could do. It had hurt then, forcing himself to live, breath by breath and step by step. It hurts now, the thousand temptations of the world beckoning on all sides, pleading for them to turn away, stop, return to their lives and try and forget-

Eddie smiles, exhausted. If he was that kind of person, he’d be married to Annie by now.

Venom exhales, so long and weary Eddie can feel him shuddering all the way through him. “No.” He growls, but softer than his usual bass rumble, “We will do this, but we will survive. We are strong, we are powerful. We will _eat_ that cloaked idiot, and destroy the gem.”

Eddie leans against him, _Thank you_.

“We’ll stop them.” This, Venom can promise. This, they can do. He slides down Eddie’s arms and extends their claws. _Them_. _Venom_. They are here. This time, Eddie will not be alone.

The streets are bare. Eddie checks his phone, but _#avengerwatch_ has been silent for hours. There are a dozen, far too clear pictures of them, fighting with Spiderman, crashing into the car. _#sanfranciscomonster_ is trending, along with # _eddiebrockmonster_. Great. Just great.

 ** _Need to rest_** , Venom nudges him. Eddie shakes his head. Yes, he’s tired. He’s been worse, and how can he sleep? The gem is still out there, waiting, ready at any moment to pull them back to- **_Enough!_**

And Eddie can’t see anything; his body is isolated and pinned inside Venom’s, unable to move. **_Need rest, Eddie_**.

_Rest where?_

Venom pauses, and Eddie feels them turn, scuttling back over the rooftops. Eddie tries to open his eyes, but Venom is holding them closed. **_Sleep, Eddie._**

He _can’t_. His body aches with exhaustion, but he cannot let himself relax, cannot let his mind switch off-

 ** _You can. We are here. We will watch, we will see. You can rest_**.

No- he has to- he needs to keep Venom safe-

 ** _Shh. Safe. Both safe. Rest. Sleep_**.

A tender wave, a caress all over his body. Venom courses over his head, inside his head. Nudges and touches all the right places and Eddie feels himself go limp. _Vee-_

 ** _Here. Always here. Always with you_**.

And now, tangled and wrapped inside and out with Venom- he can believe it. He can trust that they are _them_ , and they will be forever. The fears crowd around him, the terror that even Venom cannot keep them safe, keep them together against the Time Gem-

But then it’s too late, and Eddie’s pulled down at last, in exhausted, shattered sleep.

 

* * *

 

Maria stops dead at the sight of them. Venom tries to smile, but their teeth makes her recoil, pressing back against the far end of her narrow room. “Can we come in?” They rumble.

Maria’s mouth opens, closes. Venom has to duck their head against the low ceiling as they step inside, close the door behind them. Maria makes a high-pitched, terrified sound.

She’d been terrified of them the first time, too. Venom had been so hungry, struggling to hold himself together. They hadn’t been able to talk to her, then, but Maria had known there was something inside her, something _wrong_ , her body clashing horribly with theirs, unable to maintain symbiosis. And she had died around them, bit by bit as they devoured her. Liver and kidney and muscle mass and marrow- trying to keep up her body temperature against the clawing cold. Venom can still _taste_ her, the organs sick and withered between his teeth.

Venom huddles down; hiding his teeth and claws, drawing more of himself inside until they are just a thin film covering Eddie’s sleeping body.

Maria seems to come back to life a little, groping at her nightstand for a weapon.

“We’re not here to hurt you.” Venom murmurs. “We’re with Eddie.”

“Yeah?” Her hand closes on a half-full plastic bottle. “Where is he then?”

Venom peels part of himself away from Eddie’s face, and Maria drops the bottle, gapes. Venom wraps back around Eddie, and sits down on the ground. “We are being hunted.”

For a moment, they can see her struggle with fear, and the loyalty to Eddie. She’s liked Eddie; there’d been such a warm, golden glow around him in her memories. Venom wonders if that was where it started, if he’d been falling in love even then. “You’re from LIFE,” she doesn’t move, but she is relaxing, little by little. “Did Eddie steal you?”

“Eddie was looking for us.”

Maria blinks. “I thought that was his boyfriend-“

“Yes. Us. Now we need a place to rest.” Venom slides down, and sits them on the floor. “The Avengers are trying to find us.”

“Yeah, I saw you on twitter.” She sits down hard on the bed.

“And we are hunting them.” Venom slips a tentacle into Eddie’s pocket, and draws out the phone. “We need to charge this.”

Maria takes in with the tips of her fingers, unplugs her own ancient phone, and plugs theirs in. “While it’s here, I’m using it. Mine doesn’t play youtube.”

“Good.” Venom moves until their backs are to the wall, their legs half under the bed in the tiny room. “Tell us if anyone mentions the Avengers.”

“Sure.” Maria is sitting cross legged on the bed, “Does Waying know about you? You know, the one running the court case.”

Venom hisses. _Annie_. Eddie stirs inside him, restless at the thought of her. Lost her too. Lost so much and the terror of having what little they had left torn from them-

Losing each other.

Venom shivers. “Yes. She is- not happy.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Maria scrolls through the phone. “Wow, you are really trending.”

Venom lets his head drop back. They don’t need to sleep, but they do need to rest. To relax and let their defences down for a little while. Curl up around Eddie and let the throb of his heartbeat, the rush of his breath, the endless sounds of his living, perfect body whirr around them.

Rest.

“Um-“ Something prods their leg, some unknown time later. Venom’s eyes snap open, Eddie stirs inside them, and Venom relaxes around him, the two becoming _one_ , Eddie sharing his mind, his touch, looking out through _their_ eyes. Maria is looking at them, poking at them with one toe.

_Maria?_

**_She was a safe place to go._ **

_Good move. Let me take this_.

Venom nods, and pulls back inside Eddie. He yawns, and stretches.

Maria shakes her head, “Oh, okay.” She looks at Eddie, lost. “I met your boyfriend.”

Eddie stands up, “Yes,” his joy is bittersweet. “He’s a darling.”

“He said to wake you if there was anything about the Avengers.” She holds out their phone.

There’s a blurry photo, and the caption, _Dr Strange on the roof! #avengerwatch #wizardwatch_

Eddie licks his lips, Venom tenses, teeth pressing against the inside of his lips in their shared eagerness. It’s not too clear where the picture was taken, but it’s near Tenderloin. Posted a minute ago. “We’ve got to go.” His voice slurs a little, teeth catching on the words. _Strange_. The gem, so close, so close- God they could have it done _tonight_ -

“Gonna tell me what the hell’s going on?”

Eddie hesitates, but Venom nudges him. They don’t have _time_. “Later.”

“Don’t bring the Avengers back here.” Maria sits back, crosslegged on the bed. “I need to go to work in an hour.” She digs out a key. “Don’t lose it.”

Eddie hesitates, the little key jerking him back to reality. “You don’t have to-“

“Just make sure you’re here by 6am. You can let me in.” Maria ignores them. “And I need some actual food. Something not ramen or baked beans.”

Venom is so, so glad she is alive. He is so glad he never killed her. Eddie smiles. “We’ll see what we can do.”

The evening air is sharp and welcoming as they climb up, the faint salty drizzle fresh in their mouth and lungs. **_Good._**

 _Yeah_ , Eddie is distracted, their eyes casting around hungrily. Venom sighs and lets him come to the fore, and they bound over the roofs, hunting. _Find him, track him. Kill and take the gem and make it stop- once and for all please, forever-_

 ** _Yes_**.

Their apartment is dark, the wall back in place, with only a few bricks not quite the right colour where they’d been put back the wrong way around. Venom looks at it, miserable. A warm, safe place just for them, their TV, Eddie’s laptop, the kitchen full of food-

 _We do this, and we can go home_. Eddie thinks grimly. _Go home for good, and sleep in our own bed._

Venom huffs. Just this morning, it had been _so good_. They needed to keep the noise down in their lovemaking, with Phage there, but there had been nothing to fear, only to look forward to. It had changed so fast-

 _It would have happened anyway. At least this way, we have a chance of stopping it_. There’s a faint, shimmering glow on a nearby rooftop. Eddie bares their teeth, everything falls away, his focus narrowing so tightly the world loses all color. Their claws itch, their teeth grind, a hunger that has nothing to do with their belly.

Strange is outlined against the sky, sitting cross-legged in midair. Their eyes fix on his throat with Venom’s determination, Eddie’s desperate, screaming _need_ to end this, free them from this terror forever-

They are close, only a street away. Just one leap; and they will be free. Eddie will be free. Just one bite; and the future will open around them again. There will be a future, free of nightmares-

Eddie crouches them down, gathering them for the last spring. Strange is just- there, back to them, unaware. Something is clenched in his hands, held tight and faintly glowing- “ ** _No!”_** Eddie roars, and launches them over the road.

Strange turns, eyes gleaming, hands opening, the glow flaring into dazzling, blinding light.

 _Blue_.

Something slams into their back, jerking their jump short, and yanking them down into something thick and heavy and wet, wrapping tight and suffocating around them.

“Got him!” A small, lean shape pops up, a few meters up over the edge of a roof. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” The crackling voice, mechanical and inhuman. The still, impassive face of the Iron Man mask appears over the edge of the roof. He pulls the hood down, and untangles the makeshift cloak from his armor. **_It was a trap_**. Venom groans.

Eddie doesn’t answer, his thoughts a long, screaming line of frustrated static. He pulls and pulls and pulls- but the web doesn’t give, their body stuck tight.

 ** _Stay still, I can free us._**   Venom peels strands of himself from Eddie’s back, sprouting claws to cut through the webbing.

Stark drifts down, without the cloak, Venom can see the glow of the repulsors _they should have seen_. Should have seen, and were so desperate that they hadn’t. _Stupid_ , Eddie wails, _stupid stupid stupid-_

**_Not helping! Stop!_ **

Stark reaches up, and pulls the helmet off. “Uh- Mr Stark?” Spiderman leans down, “Is that a good idea?”

Stark doesn’t answer, looking at them. Eddie bares their teeth, snarls wordlessly. “Brock.”

Eddie yanks harder at the web. Above them, Spiderman swings down and lands beside them, Venom feels the web tremble under them, and sends strands of himself out over it, ready to bite through and free them-

“You remember me, Brock?” Stark says softly. “Come on, I know what you look like. Talk face to face.”

 _Go on_ , Eddie nudges him, _he might underestimate us_.

Venom pulls away from his face, tests the strength of the webs- strong, but the outside is already starting to dry- the longer they can keep Stark talking, the easier it will be to break free.

“Stark.” Eddie spits. “You look good.”

“Thanks.” Stark doesn’t so much as blink. “You don’t. I see you kept those.” He nods at Eddie’s ravaged arms.

And Eddie’s mind just goes- numb. Flatline.

 

* * *

 

“You remember.” Brock whispers, staring up at Tony. There’s desperate, wild hope in his eyes. “You _remember-_ “

“I don’t know what I remember!” He should be calm, he _wants_ to be calm. Cool, collected, press face. Instead, he’s screaming. “I just woke up and- _what did you do?_ ” He grips his head, the pounding memories hammering on the inside of his skull. Fragmented pieces of two pasts warring with each other.

_He’s lying in a tangle of reeking rags, sucking in a breath that won’t come, the arc reactor gleaming in his hand-_

_He’s huddling with Steve against the gnawing, endless cold, the last light of Earth blinking out as the portal traps them in Jotunheim-_

_He’s holding Peter, the boy’s eyes desperate and pleading for Tony to **do something**_ _as he falls to ash in his hands-_

_Brock’s shouting as Tony shoves him out of the way, the Red Skull’s army is freezing everything in Manhattan and it’s no place for civilians-_

“What did you do?” Tony breathes, “Even Strange hasn’t got a clue, I’ve never seen him so freaked out.”

“The gem-“ Brock tries to sit up, but Peter’s done a good job with him, and he barely jerks the web. “God, he’s got the _Time Gem_ \- you’ve got to stop him-“

“No one’s doing anything.” Tony grits his teeth. “And you’re not going anywhere until you _give us answers!_ ”

“Mr Stark?” Peter hovers uncomfortably on the wall a few feet away, and Tony takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. They already wonder if he’s ill, he doesn’t want to scare Peter.

“You know what happened.” Brock’s eyes are too bright, shimmering with madness and for a moment Tony is back _there_ , the dead world washed in golden light. His stomach lurches and the air feels too heavy in his lungs. “You saw it-“

“Billions dead.” Tony whispers, although it’s too much to hope Peter can’t hear him. _Peter._ Dead in his arms, crumbling to dust. “You killed- God, how many did you kill? Do you even know?”

“I-“ Brock stares. “Oh fuck _no!_ ” He struggles against the webbing. “ _Jesus_ , you can’t think I-“

“You nearly unmade the world. Strange found traces of the gem’s influence _everywhere_ \- fuck, not even just on Earth. Every time he uses the gem, we-” He can’t finish it. He looks at Brock, helpless. He thought he knew madness. Stane, Vanko, the Red Skull- they were all mad but dear God at least they _made sense_ in their madness. “Was it Drake? Were you so determined to destroy him that-“

“ _No!_ ” Brock’s voice tears into a roar, his teeth are too long, too sharp, the alien inside him coming to the fore. “That wasn’t me! That was-“ He breaks off.

“Who?!” Tony yells. “If not you then who!”

Brock’s mouth opens, closes, face drawn in desperation. “It doesn’t matter. He’s dead. We killed it-“

“Yeah, sorry, not gonna take your word for it. Not after you tried to bite Strange’s face off.”

“He can’t undo it.” Eddie begs. “That world- it was real. I destroyed it. Please, you have to stop him. If he changes it back-“

Tony stares at him as he talks, face pleading and fanatical as the doom preachers on Times Square. He’s insane. All the power in the world, and it was in the hands of a madman. Strange still has no idea how Brock is managing to access the gem’s power, no idea how to make him stop. God, every time Strange uses it, that world seems to be that little bit closer, for all the doctor insists it’s safe.

“That’s great.” He breaks into Brock’s ranting. “Just great. It’s always a great day when the world turns out to be made of fucking paper, and any crazy can scribble whatever the fuck he wants on it. How did you use the gem?”

Brock sags into the web, the dismissal knocking he wind out of him. “I had it.” He says finally. “It- nearly killed me.” His hands spasm; opening and closing, the knotted scars on his arms pulse as the tendons clench. He remembers those scars, knows he shouldn’t touch them, for some reason. “I used it to unmake that world, make this one. Strange- he could- he might try to- you have to destroy the gem-“

Tony shakes his head, they’re wasting their time. Brock even seems to believe what he’s saying. And since he’s entirely mad, it’s hopeless. “Strange has had the gem for years. No one else has gone near it.”

“But-“

“You tried to kill- oh God, and _Peter_ -“ no more words can come out. His swallows against the choking lump in his throat. “No, enough.”

“I didn’t-“

“Web him up, Spidey, we’re taking him in.”

Brock roars in denial, pulling furiously at the webs-

And they snap loose.

Brock hits Tony like a freight train, claws shearing through the suit and sending them smashing into the far wall of the alley. For a moment, all Tony can see are Brock’s furious, maddened eyes- then they pale and spread and vanish under the- whatever he had taken from LIFE Foundations. It roars in Tony’s face “ ** _Leave Eddie alone!”_** Then Brock kicks up, a massive leap clearing the roof completely and vanishing out of sight.

“Oh no you don’t-“ Spiderman drops the slashed remains of his web, gathers himself to spring after Brock-

Tony tries the suit and winces, Brock’s claws have cut through power wires and his left boot is firing intermittently. “Shit!” And Peter pauses, just for a moment.

The delay is fatal. By the time Tony has managed to get himself above the rooftops, Brock is gone. Peter is swinging around, trying to see anything, but it’s useless.

“This is his turf.” Tony drops down in jerks, landing hard on the roof. “He’s gone.”

Peter grumbles and drops down beside him, “I can take him. It’s like Doc Ock- I _know_ what I did wrong last time, I can do better-“

“Last time, he wasn’t trying.” Tony pulls off the chestplate and picks at the wires, _fuck, what was that thing?_ “You saw those claws, you’ve have been spider tartar if he’d wanted-“ Tony breaks off, the words can’t quite come. Brock’s nightmare world shimmers just at the corners of his vision. Waiting.

No. Not him, not his boy. Tony closes his eyes and draws in a deep breath. Whatever he needs to do- not that.

Never.

“We need to get him to Strange.” Tony’s mouth is numb, “Whatever Brock’s done, whatever he’s trying to do- Strange can undo it. We _can’t_ take the risk.”

 

* * *

 

The phone rings. And rings. And rings.

_Hello, you’ve reached Eddie Brock, please leave a message-_

Annie swears and fights the urge to throw the phone across the room. _Why?_ How could she been _this fucking stupid_? God, what did that human disaster need to do for her to realize he was bad news through and through?

And the most frustrating thing is that no matter how much she wants to- it’s not all on Eddie. No, at least half of this is on her. Eddie might have the biggest puppy dog eyes, but she was the one who heard _LIFE_ and _Asgard_ _Bill_ and tasted the biggest, most show-stopping case of her career. Dragging one of the world’s biggest corporations down by force of the one of the world’s most iconic and controversial bills had her mouth watering. Add in the eye-catching gloss of aliens and the highlight of the Avengers and the case had been the most glorious, teasing prize Annie had ever seen.

A bit too good. A bit too perfect. And of course, Eddie Brock was right in the middle of it.

Annie groans, looking around at her deserted office. No one else is in today. No one in the firm is daring to go near her after everything erupted only a few days before the court case that should have been a cinch. Should have made her career. Should have- should have- should have.

And LIFE was ready. God, they were so fucking ready to grind her and Eddie into the dust once and for all. She’d been so proud in baiting them into their trap, letting them get back the swagger Drake’s death had kicked out of them, the arrogance. She’d been so sure they had them-

And Eddie. Eddie fighting the Avengers. Half engulfed in the alien who no longer looked nearly so cute, with all those teeth. Eddie screaming like a madman at a _fucking kid_ in the middle of the street, ready to tear him to pieces-

Well. LIFE had been confident. Now they're pretty fucking cocky. They know  they’re  going to win today. They’re going to _bury_ them. And Eddie doesn’t even have the human decency to face up to what he’s done to her.

She looks down at her phone, helplessly. The tag seems to have settled on _#brockmonster_ as the official hashtag, and Eddie hasn’t been bothering to lay low, these last few days. The feed’s full of snaps of him scrambling across the city, crossing and recrossing San Francisco, looking for- the Avengers probably. Hungry for a rematch. Annie closes her eyes.

There’s a knock on the door. Annie sighs and starts packing her papers away for the long ride to the courthouse. Her almost-useless papers. There hasn’t been time to revise her arguments properly. “Come in.”

She’d expected Dr Skirth, or that other woman Eddie had sent to her as a witness- Maria, that was her name. Instead-

Annie stands up almost reflexively. _Oh god, please no_.

“Ms Waying.”

She’d met Tony Stark once before, at a charity auction shortly after the New York invasion. He had been smiling then, all flash and charm, laughing off her stumbling apology for Eddie’s behavior-

He isn’t smiling now. He’s stiff and cold, wearing his Armani suit as though it were every bit the armor his Iron Man suit was. Behind him is the Black Widow, also neatly dressed in a blazer and pencil skirt, watching her, waiting for Annie to make the wrong move.

“Ms Waying,” Stark repeats, his voice clipped, “You need to come with us.”

For a moment, Annie feels like giving up. It’s just not worth fighting any more, LIFE and Stark and the world’s most terrifying assassin and she just wants to be _done_. Give up and go home and curl under the covers and _cry-_

Then she looks behind them, to where the elevator doors have just blinked open. Dora Skirth takes two steps out along the corridor and stops, staring at Annie, at the two Avengers.

 _No_. Annie feels something boil up inside her, and she straightens up, throwing her shoulders back. It isn’t just her, there are others relying on her. People who lost friends and family to LIFE. Fuck Eddie, she can at least make sure these people come out of this disaster a little better off than they came in. “Excuse me.” She picks up her briefcase. “I’m going to be late for the hearing.”

“It’s too dangerous.” The Black Widow’s voice is soft as cat’s footsteps, utterly calm. “We need to take you in for questioning.”

“On what grounds?” Annie snaps, and waves Dora over. Skirth looks from the elevator to her, wavering.

“For God’s sake.” Stark growls, “You know why-“

“I don’t. And unless you’ve got a reason to arrest me, I’m going now.”

For a horrible moment, she thinks they do. That Eddie’s gone so far that he’s caught her up in it too. Then Stark steps aside stiffly, and Annie walks out. The Widow takes another second to move out of the way, and Annie forces herself to walk calm and steady past her, ignoring the eyes boring into her. “Doctor Skirth.” She doesn’t quite need to force the smile. “Thank you for coming.”

Skirth glances at the Avengers, back to her. Stark twitches as though he wants to step in, but the Black Widow holds up a hand, stopping him. Annie struggles to ignore them. “Are you ready to go?”

“It is a good idea?” Skirth takes a step back, not quite taking her eyes from the Avengers. “They want to find-“

“I know what they want.” Annie takes a deep breath. “It’s nothing to do with us.”

“We just want to find Brock,” the Widow steps in, “Just tell us where he is.”

“If I knew, he’d at the courthouse already.”

“We can’t just-“ Stark starts.

“Do we want this here? With them?” The Widow nods at Skirth, who shifts, uncomfortable.

“Fine. But we’re coming too.” Stark pulls out his phone and stabs something into it, scowling.

Annie bites her tongue, takes Skirth’s arm and walks her to the elevator. “Can they do that?” Skirth hisses.

“It’s a public hearing.” Annie grits out. “We can’t stop them. Have you seen Eddie?”

She shakes her head. “Not since that lot turned up at his apartment. We barely got out.”

Annie frowns, “We?”

Skirth flinches, glances back at the Avengers. “Me and Eddie. He- ran away.”

“Yeah.” Annie grips her briefcase, “He’s good at that.”

Outside, Annie waves down a cab. Stark and the Widow wait as the car pulls up, then Widow opens the driver’s door. “We'll drive you.”

“Wait, what? The driver gapes. “Look-“

“No.” Annie snarls, “What are you-“

The Widow pins her with a flat, knifelike stare, “We will drive you.” She repeats.

Stark hands the driver a thick handful of bills and the guy’s mouth drops open. “We’ll bring the car back by tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” The guy stares. “After that, it’s your car.”

Annie grits her teeth. Oh who the hell cares any more? At least she’s saving the fare, since she’s probably going to be fired tomorrow. “San Francisco Superior Courthouse.” She sighs, and slides into the back.

She nods stiffly, and waits until Dora and Stark are in. “Call Strange.” Widow snaps, starting the car. “Tell him to meet us there.”

“A lot of innocents there.” Stark pulls out his phone.

“He won’t dare.” She nods at Annie. “But he won’t miss it either.”

Annie stiffens “What do you want?”

“Nothing.” Stark tries to smile, but it doesn’t quite work, his hands clenched. “Just trying to get you to work on time.”

Annie grits her teeth, grips her briefcase like a shield. They're going the right way, and after a few minutes they pull up in front of the courthouse.

There’s already quite a crowd. Not only the press and LIFE goons- but a lot of people flocking around some asshole in a cloak. It’s probably one of the Avengers. Annie thinks he was one of those fighting Eddie.

“You’d better know what you’re _fucking_ doing.” The guy scowls at Stark as they get out of the car. “I’m all over twitter.”

Annie turns away, people are starting to go in but- she needs a minute. Just a bit of air, before walking into the waiting meat-grinder. Dora looks at her, “Go on in,” Annie sighs, “I’ll come in a minute.” God, she wishes she smoked.

She walks down to the corner and stares out into the traffic, not seeing it. Pulls out her phone and checks the time. She’s got maybe five minutes before she needs to go in. Not that it’s going to take much preparation, not for this trainwreck.

The screen’s still on Eddie’s number. She looks down at the list of calls, _07.23, 07.34, 07.42_ numbers trailing down, all unanswered. Annie sighs, and presses the call button. Fifty-seventh time lucky.

It rings, and rings. Annie pulls it away from her ear, and sighs-

A few feet away, behind a car, something buzzes.

It’s as though something’s- gone off, inside Annie. The world blurs red and she almost drops her phone, charging up between the two cars, and grabbing Eddie by the front of his sweater.

“Wha-!”

“You _utter piece of shit!_ ” Annie screams, throwing him back against the car. “How _fucking dare you_!”

Eddie blinks, stumbles back. “Annie, I-“

 _“I don’t care!”_ She shakes him. “Is this a fucking _game_ to you?! Seeing how far you can screw things up?”

“You don’t understand-“

“I don’t want to!” Annie shoves her face into his, snarling. “You are going into that courtroom. You are going to _face up to_ what you did. By God if I’m going down you’re coming with me you _fucking coward._ ”

“Annie-“ She doesn’t wait, turning and dragging Eddie into the courthouse. “Annie wait-“

“Not listening.”

“Look you don’t understand-“

“I don’t need to.” The crowd outside the courthouse has mostly dispersed, but there are still a few reporters hanging around outside. She can’t quite hear what they’re saying as she pulls Eddie up the stairs to the door, but a few photo flashes catch them before she can shoulder the door open.

It hardly matters. It’s not like things can get any worse.

 

* * *

 

Annie snatches his phone and shoves him through the courtroom doors. “You’re getting that back when this is over.” And slams the doors closed behind them. Eddie stumbles, and catches himself on the back of a bench before they can fall face-first on the carpet. He straightens, presses a hand against his chest where Venom is curled up, tense and ready to spring.

 ** _Missed him_**.

“Yeah, I know.” Eddie mumbles, looking around. Everyone is staring at him. The benches are full, and Eddie recognizes a few of LIFE Foundation's more well-pressed suits. He hesitates, wonders if she can still escape-

 ** _Don’t think Annie will let us_**.

“No.” It hardly mattered; they’d missed their chance, Strange slipping out from under their claws _again_.

“Eddie!” A hiss and someone grabs his sweater, pulling him down on the bench. “Sit down!”

“ ** _Phage_**.” Venom growls through his throat.

Dora’s eyes flicker blue-black. “ ** _Venom_**.” She sneers back. “ ** _Was this part of your plan?_** ”

Eddie closes his eyes. “I’ve already heard it from Annie-“

“Yeah, well you can hear it from us too.” Dora snarls. “You said you had a plan! You said you could get us out of this!”

“We did.” Eddie glances at the front, the lines of LIFE lawyers. “This wasn’t- we didn’t know the Avengers-

 ** _“Don’t care_**.” Phage scowls at them. _“ **They are not taking us; they can tear both of you to pieces though**_.”

Eddie bares his teeth, feels Venom’s own pressing through behind. Dora shudders and turns away. “They don’t know about us.” She murmurs, not looking at him. “I should never have trusted you, and they’re not getting Phage.”

No. Eddie looks down at his hands, their hands, Venom wound between his fingers, holding tight. “I’m sorry.” He knows how useless that is. He’d have never forgiven anyone who endangered Venom.

“You know that’s not good enough.”

It’s a long, painful wait until the doors at the front finally open and the judge comes in, the prosecutor, and Annie, pale and furious. She meets Eddie’s eyes and her mouth presses into a hard smile, and sits down, rigid, in her chair.

Even if they were close enough to talk, there’s nothing to say. Eddie closes his eyes and Venom squeezes his hand. The friendship, this person he loved- she’s gone. Even if they win, she will never, ever want to see them again. Four years of friendship, memories so bright and happy; him and Venom and Annie and Dan- gone. Crumbled to ash and nothing.

Venom doesn’t answer in words, pressing tight against his mind and releasing _love_ and _warm_ and _safe_. Yes, Eddie smiles sadly, holds tight to Venom’s hand, them. They can hold on, as long as they have each other, but it still hurts.

 ** _I know, love_**.

Eddie draws in a breath; and look up to where the prosecutor is laying out the charges. Theft, assault, murder. Eddie’s mouth twitches. An accusation of murder coming from these murderers. He feels Dora and Phage twitch beside them, and when he looks at them, Dora has a hand knotted into her shirt, holding on tight to Phage’s tendrils.

“The theft of _billions_ of dollars of- rare alien technology-“

“We won’t let them take you.” Eddie whispers.

“Right now, that means shit coming from you.” She mutters back.

Annie scowls at him, counters with something Eddie doesn’t quite catch because Venom’s claws are digging into his hands. **_Eddie!_**

“The previous persecution of Mr Drake-“

Eddie drags his eyes away from Annie’s, away to the viewing gallery and-

Right there, barely ten feet away, is Strange.

Eddie’s mouth goes dry, he can taste Venom’s teeth, his tongue heavy in his mouth, almost _drooling_. He’s so _close_. He can see the glint of the pendant, the glimmering gold caging the Time Gem. Strange sees him and stiffens, glancing next to him- to Stark. Stark ignores him, he’s watching Eddie too, rubbing his knuckles over the arc reactor. Spiderman is peering curiously at him; and half waves when he sees Eddie looking at him.

“- the savage murder of more than two dozen hard working employees-“

Eddie swallows, the moment stretching unbearably. His ears are ringing, sound filtering in and out like a badly tuned radio. _So close_. They’d already ruined so much; did it really matter to hold off now? Just one leap, the snap of teeth and- it would be over; they could escape with the gem and destroy it-

His teeth itch, his fingers ache as the claws slide free. Strange jerks back, one hand coming up to the gem- _No!_ Dora jerks beside, him, grabbing his arm to hold him down-

“The mad vengeance of an embittered rabble-rouser-“

Venom slides under his skin, ready to bleed through. Their muscles bunch and coil like springs, ready. They bare their teeth, about to strike-

Then the doors smash open, and Riot lurches into the courtroom.

It’s like a punch to the brain. For a moment, they’re frozen in place, staring. Riot’s jaws gape open, saliva dripping to the floor, curdled-milk eyes searching over the courtroom, before resting on Eddie and Dora.

“There you are!” He roars, stamping towards them. “You crawling little cowards! Filthy traitors! How dare you hide!”

Eddie risks a glance back at the LIFE lawyers. They are stiff and pale as waxworks, Annie is desperately trying to get his attention, but Dora suddenly stands up.

“ ** _We are cowards?!_** ” Phage roars through her mouth, “ ** _You left us to die! You hid for weeks while we starved with these idiots-“_**

“ ** _And you chose to die_**.” Riot bares his teeth at them, **_“You are WEAK_** -“ He breaks off, looking down.

A policeman is standing just behind, ash-pale and guns drawn. He’s are shaking so hard he’s more likely to shoot himself than Riot. “No!” Eddie yells.

Too late, Riot grins, and grabs the cop.

The Avengers are struggling to their feet, too slow. Stark’s armor is barely snaking over him and Riot has the man by the throat, who slumps in his claws, kicking feebly, Riot’s massive jaws gaping wide-

Eddie chances one look at Dora, she’s pale, and he can see Phage flickering behind her eyes. Her face drawn in their shared fear. Eddie feels Venom coil against his brain, he meets Phage’s eyes and Eddie can’t quite understand how they speak, but he gets the gist.

 _Fuck it_.

They move like liquid. Venom envelops Eddie and he doesn’t need to turn because Venom is already moving, throwing them backwards over the benches in a wave of amorphous black and slamming into Riot, hard enough that he drops the man.

“ ** _What are you doing?!”_** Riot’s teeth snap inches from them; and they recoil back into _them_ , into Venom. They smile- or rather, Venom smiles; Eddie just bares his teeth. Riot actually takes a step back, turning to impale the policeman struggling to crawl to the door. But Dora is there now, Phage is running over her in a lattice of blue-black, elongating her fingers into claws, a muzzle of teeth bursting from her face.

 ** _“You too?”_** Riot snarls, stalking forwards, and Phage recoils, starting to back down- **_“I expected this from Venom, but not you-_** “ but then it’s Dora, shoving them forward with a roar, burying their teeth into the side of Riot’s head.

Eddie feels Venom coil up, readying to leap in too- _Distraction!_ Eddie screams in their head, _Now! While they’re all looking at that idiot!_ They catch themselves mid-leap, twist so they hit Riot feet-first, throwing him down into Dora- and up, clearing the railing to the viewing gallery, teeth bared at the blur of face and armor-

And Strange, _just there_. Nothing but clothes and flesh between them and the Time Gem. He throws out a hand and Eddie feels the bones snap as they hit. Their teeth snapping barely millimeters from Strange’s head, their claws raking through cloak and flesh and blood bursting through their fingers- _the gem the gem where-_

There.

Held up in Strange’s remaining hand. Rivers of green pouring down over his hand.

They’re thrown back over the edge of the gallery. The blood unravels from under their claws, soaks back into Strange. The world dances as they fall, outlines in green and-

 _Gold_.

The world flickers, frays around the edges. The air thins. Cracks fragment in the corners of their vision and the light is gold-grey, catching the motes of _ash_ -

They hit the ground so hard the air his kicked out of Eddie’s lungs. The scream tears free high and terrified and _so familiar_. Thanos’ gasping laugh echoing in his ears, the light playing on Nebula’s blade-

 ** _Eddie!_** And _Venom_ , Venom is here- and he’s rolling them away as Riot slams a massive blade where they had been a heartbeat ago. **_Here! Stay!_**

Riot roars, lashes out with an huge axe-hand to impale them- and buckling over as Dora and Phage jump on his back, sinking their teeth into his neck, ripping out mouthfuls of grey flesh-

**_Move Eddie!_ **

_How- I- Vee?_ His mind fractures. Images flaking and flying away, without sense or reason. _He’s howling at Thanos in a dead world. He’s screaming on a battlefield as Venom’s claws tear through his arm- then laughing as it melts into their home, his arms raked to the bone._ Triumph and despair, joy and tears. Eddie screams and throws himself at Riot.

 

* * *

 

People are panicking, trying to run out of the courtroom. There’s a burst of pain as something hot rakes over their shoulders. Stark, trying to get a clear shot at them- but then Riot’s in the way, trying to grab hold of them and tear them from each other.

 _No!_ Eddie shrieks- he’s barely holding it together, desperate and screaming and Venom wants to _go_ so badly. Take them away from this disaster and hold Eddie until he stops screaming. But there’s no time, no space to breathe

It would be- almost enjoyable, if it wasn’t for everything else. Whatever host Riot is using, they’re nowhere near as good a fit as Drake- or maybe it’s just that he and Eddie have become so much better at fighting together.

They slide easily under a clumsy blow that shatters the wall below the viewing gallery, and catch themselves as Riot stops for a moment, distracted by the cries as the gallery starts to break away from the wall. Strange slips, the tangle of robes dancing just so tantalizingly into view, he’s grabbing the railing to steady himself, gripping the Gem and green light starts snaking down the wall, trying to pull the gallery back together-

Eddie’s scream breaks free from their throat, splitting the air like a whip.  Venom jumps and lashes Riot across his face, forcing him back, and twists in mid air to catch the end of Strange’s robes.

The man shouts, the green light dissolves into sparks as he’s pulled over the edge of the gallery. “No!”

And stops, the boy’s caught his back in webbing. Strange shouts and kicks, catches them a glancing blow. Venom shakes it off, open their jaws to bite off his leg quickly, before the boy can web them-

Riot’s claws sink into their back, so deep they rip straight through Venom and tear into Eddie’s shoulders, dragging open inch-long dagger-wounds. Eddie barely feels it, blinded with terror and screaming but _no not Eddie never not him DIE DIE DIE-_

They kick, knocking Riot off them, and Venom drops down and hits him in the stomach as he lands, off balance. He can hear Phage shouting something, distant and uncertain and irrelevant because _Eddie is bleeding he made Eddie bleed and oh Eddie Eddie with a blade through his chest to taste of his blood NO_.

Riot’s skull pops under their jaws, down through the tangle of his thickened tendrils and to his host’s skull. There’s not much of them left, the brain a dried walnut within the tissue-thin skull, but their teeth scythe through it and halt whatever thin thread of life still remains.

Riot’s howl turns into burbling gasps, then to the liquid, trembling cry of vibrations as he loses all cohesion without a host. In this crowded setting, he’s only minutes away from a new host, but right now, a minute is an eternity, and they have more pressing concerns than Riot.

Strange is struggling free from the boy’s web, floating unsteadily above the floor and trying to rise out of reach. The boy’s scrambling up the wall, firing webs at Phage. She snarls and snaps, springing back as Stark blasts her. Eddie pushes up inside them, furiously, claws tearing out to snatch at Strange, they have a chance. They have to take it- they have to-

Strange rights himself, just out of reach. His hands snatch at the gem, mouth drawn up in a snarl of fear and rage. Venom bares their teeth as Eddie screams in their head; he’s looking forwards to eating those hands, scar tissue and all.

The gem flares, blazing between those groping fingers. Their claws rip through the end of his cloak- but he’s too high up. The gem ripples over them like the sun from underwater, and the world- trembles, like flames rising around them. The light hits their arm and Venom _screams_ , it _burns_. It burns more than fire, more than pure oxygen. The gem knows them, has tasted them before, and it _hungers_.

“Stay back!” Strange roars, triumphant. “Whatever you’re doing, you won’t-“

And the roof shatters open; pieces of concrete and rebar crashing down around them. A piece shears down and catches Strange on the shoulder. He screams, and vanishes in a cloud of dust and debris.

 _Vee!_ Eddie jerks them back, and a huge shard of stone shatters the floor where they had been. _Vee, look-_

They look up, and freeze.

The air is greyed out with dust, only faint flecks of light shining through the hulking ships blotting out the sky above the courthouse.

They can’t move, their body spasms, but can’t quite draw in breath. The ships move like sharks in deep water, one breaking off to float down into the shattered building. The door slides open, _“The next one who moves, gets impaled!”_

A woman in green, red hair wild and teeth bared for war, a huge spear in her hand, and behind her-

 _Nebula._ Eddie whispers.

The woman falls in a blue blur and for a moment Venom cannot _see_ her, images superimposed and uncertain. Through Eddie's eyes she's machine, barely enough flesh left to cover her, striding across the dead world. But right here, she's straight-backed flesh and bone, two dark eyes deep set, a fine fringe of silver hair crowning her head.

_Let me._

**_Eddie-_ **

_I can do this- I have to-_

Venom looks around- there's no sign of Strange. Stark is in cover behind a pile of rubble with the kid, shouting something Venom can't quite hear. Riot is trying to reach them, crawling slowly over the concrete. Hoping they can distract each other, Venom peels himself away from Eddie's face.

The woman stops in mid step. "Eddie."

"He's got the gem-" Eddie's voice rasps, He's screamed himself hoarse inside Venom. "Please- before he can-"

"What is going on?" Stark gets up, repulsor wavering between Eddie and Nebula. Venom snarls, but Eddie grabs him, fingers hooked into his flesh, holding him back. "What are you-" his voice trails off, recognition growing in his eyes as he looks at Nebula. Recognition, and horror.

"Yes." Nebula answers softly. "Yes. All of it. All true."

"You will turn over the Time Gem!" The woman in the ship steps forwards, her voice a ringing bell of command. "You will end this madness, or your whole world will pay the cost!"

"No." Stark whispers. "No, it was him, he-" he looks at Eddie, desperate, begging. _Please please tell me it's not true. This world can't be a lie._

"Strange." Eddie whispers, "The one in the cloak. He's got it, you have to-"

The ground shudders and bucks, Venom lashes back up around Eddie as they stumble and fall back, the rubble sliding up, glowing _green._

" ** _No!_** " They scream with one voice. Nebula cries something in her own tongue and draws her blades. "Stop!" Stark cries.

Strange's clothes are torn to rags, the cloak flying around him in ribbons. The pendant is shattered open, and the hungry glow reaches tendrils out to them all. "This stops now." Strange whispers. "This ends. Whatever you've done-"

"Stephen." Stark raises his repulsor. "Let go of that thing."

"It's affecting you! You said yourself, those dreams-"

"They weren't dreams." The repulsor wavers. "For fuck's sake, put it down and we can talk."

"You saw the world they want to bring about-"

"You are mad to think that's what we want." Nebula takes a step forwards- but the light of the gem falls on her, and she staggers. One eye is gone in a mass of metal, metal plates cladding over her skull " _No!"_ Her voice is a mechanical screech.

"Stephen, if you-" any more is lost in a wild, desperate cry.

Riot.

It just takes that one moment, caught and trapped in green amber. Riot swarming up the boy, a devouring grey mass. Stark, eyes turned from Strange, staring in horror. Nebula, struggling between two selves. Venom feels the moment slip through their claws, fleeting as wingbeats-

And Strange lifts the stone.

The world explodes in green.

 

* * *

 

Riot crumbles to ash, the rocket fuel devouring him in white flashfire.

The boy is caught mid-motion, mouth open but soundless and slowly, so slowly, he falls backwards, his edges turning to ash and flaking off, floating in his wake like a comet’s tail.

Stark staggers forwards, then falls to his knees, blood bubbling between his lips. The gauntlets scratch across his chestplate, the gaping hole where the arc reactor used to be.

Eddie looks down at his hand, the world around fading away. The arc reactor shimmers in his palm, the tangle of wires, the pulsing mass of the bomb. The blue glow wars with the green, casting flickering shadows over his arms.

His arms.

In the green, the scars are old and knotted over stick thin bones. In the blue, he’s still _them,_ scars sweetly red over his solid arms, and Venom wound tight and desperate against him. Venom sinks claws into him, clinging to him **_no, no Eddie please no please no NO!_**

Screaming, screaming in his head. Eddie can’t move. Claws in his arms. Venom, head pulling free from his shoulder and crying out, black substance already starting to crack and burn away.

He’s dying. He’s dying, in front of Eddie. Again and again a thousand times, in his dreams and waking nightmares. Thanos is laughing in his head, and Venom is burning burning _burning_ -

Eddie tries to scream, but his mouth if full of ash, full of _Venom_. The gem is blinding, brighter and brighter. It hovers in the air, but Strange’s hands are little more than dust now, barely shadows in the streaming light, and it drifts down, shattered pieces of gold orbiting it like lazy planets. The whole world turning to shadows around them, holes boring through the courthouse walls, the stone underfoot falling to rubble. The sky above slowly turning from blue to gold-

And somehow, in the horror, in the screaming, everyone crumbling and dying- Eddie’s head clears. It’s as though everything had been drawing just to this point, as though his shattered mind had known, somehow, that this time would come again, and had been getting him ready for this. This last step.

 ** _No!_** Venom’s voice cracks on a whisper. **_Please no._**

 _We have to._ Eddie steps forwards, letting the arc reactor fall to the ground. His feet crunch on rubble, or parched and barren ground. His beat-up old boots, or the ripped up rags he’d tied around his feet. _It’s over, love **.**_

 ** _No_** \- Venom trembles, trying to coil inside Eddie- but he can’t, he’s coming apart, like the corona of a dying star. **_Can- run. Can- live-_**

 _There’s nowhere to go_. The light is brighter, brighter. It washes over him, bores him out from the inside, _burning_. He clothes are rags, his bones press tight against his skin. Eddie reaches up a skeletal hand, brushes aside a piece of the broken pendant. _We will go together, this time_.

 ** _No_**. But even Venom know it’s no good, exhausted and sobbing in pain and loss. **_Oh Eddie- please- can’t-_**

 _Us, together._ Eddie closes his eyes, willing his worn out muscles, his brittle bones to shut tight, hold what was left of his darling within him, keep them whole and together, one last time. _I’ll love you forever._

Venom sobs, and floods that last of himself out around Eddie’s hand, and together, they snatch the Time Gem out of the air.

It’s like stopping a train with their bare hands. A train made of death and white-hot fire. It’s like swallowing a nuclear bomb, holding it and letting it burn them up from the inside. It’s like diving underwater and deliberately drawing in breath.

Eddie can feel the world-that-was around them, hungry in gold like an ancient tomb and flaring with the fire of a dying star. And there, there was the world he made, frail and trembling like tissue paper, already starting to catch and smolder, a heartbeat from bursting into flame.

And they take that flame. They cup their hands around it, the swallow it, wrap their body tight and let it take them, shielding the world.

 ** _He-ro_** , Venom croaks, barely there.

 _Yes. Heroes_. Eddie tries to smile, but nothing comes out but blood.

 ** _Lo-ve-you_**. He can’t say any more, but as the fire rushes up higher and higher- the heart of a storm, ground zero- he pushes one last thought through. The darkness, the nothing of death. Their end. But not alone. The two of them, together. No thought or consciousness, but the knowledge that even in this, they were one.

There’s a flash of silver, a searing pain in his hands, the green bursts into black. And then, nothing.

 

* * *

 

He’s alone.

A soft, pained moan rips from his aching throat. The sound of an animal that was too hurt to live, that waited for death. The bond was ripped open, a new break over the old, bleeding pain and exhaustion through his brain.

Venom was right. There is nothing in death, nothing but nothing, and all of it alone. He gives another weak, wretched cry.

Something beeps.

Eddie reaches out his hand- for what, he doesn’t know. He isn’t sure if this is a world alarm clocks exist in, any more. It doesn’t matter, his hand doesn’t move. There is light through his closed eyes and he moans a third time. He’s alive. He’s alive and Venom is _gone_. He’s alone, lost in that darkness, wondering where Eddie is-

“Eddie.”

Alone. It’s so cold, the world stretching out hollow and empty around him. He might not be dead, but the nothingness is inside him anyway. Sucking and hungry and eating him inside out, and he lived through it for a whole _year_ and he can’t, _he can’t._

“Brock.”

He’s so weak. It takes everything he has to open his eyes. The world beyond is bright and incoherent, making no sense. Please no. Please not again. He chokes, tears burning the corners of his eyes. Venom is waiting, and he can’t reach him, he’s _alone_ , and Eddie can’t be there, is too _weak,_ too _useless-_

“Oh for- _here!”_

A hand snaps around his wrist, Eddie’s eyes can’t focus, the person a blur of blue. They pull him up and to his side. There’s a stab of pain as his hand is pressed against warm glass.

Eddie tries to look up, narrowing his eyes to try and get them into focus. Nebula’s dark eyes look down on him, her mouth soft, gentle. “Look, Eddie.”

There’s a brush of something warm on the other side of the glass, a push of contact through the bond. Eddie gasps, tries to tear through the glass with his nails. Behind the thick glass, the flickering reflections of the hospital lights, there’s something dark, something stirring and pushing up close and tight on its side of the glass, as close to Eddie as it can get.

“Vee.” Eddie whispers. “Please-“ he can’t see him, his eyes don’t work, just an uncertain dark mass- _please please Vee tell me it’s you. Tell me you’re okay-_

“It’s him.” Nebula keeps his hand pressed against the glass, and Eddie could _cry_ , he’s so grateful. His muscles are trembling just from that effort. “You were so badly hurt, you were dying. We had to separate you to save you.”

“Should- not.” Eddie begs. Better to die. Better never to know again what it’s like to be alone.

“I know. But call us selfish, we want to keep you around. Just a moment, and you can be together again.”

Somehow, Eddie gets his other hand up. Pressing that palm against the glass too with a jab of pain, and Vee- _oh Vee he can see him, he’s right there his darling his love he’s alive-_ spreads over the glass there too, as close as he can get to Eddie, just the glass between them. He’s crying, each sob shaking him to the bone. “Sweetheart.” He whispers. “Oh starshine, yeah, I’m here.”

Nebula lets him go and Eddie nearly tips off the bed, arms shaking as he braces himself on the glass. He can’t let go, he can’t lose that tender, fragile touch, Venom reaching through the glass to touch his mind, just enough to keep them alive, keep them whole.

Nebula steps over to Venom- he’s in a cylinder, a bit like the one he had been in at LIFE. “We had to keep him underwater, away from the oxygen.” Nebula continues, low and gentle. “We fed him bits of the other one, the grey one, and it seemed to work-“

“Chocolate.” Eddie rasps, he can barely recognize his own voice. “Loves- chocolate.”

“I’ll get Tony to send out for some.” She starts to unscrew the top and Eddie makes a high, desperate cry as Venom peels away from under his hands, _leaving him_ -

Eddie tries to sit up, scrabbling at the glass and reaching up, as high as he can like a drowned man struggling for air. _Vee_ -

“Here.” Nebula pulls him up. “The third one, Phage, she gave us a formula for chemicals to feed him. He’s stronger now, but we couldn’t risk bonding you early.” She gives a tight little smile. “I’ll probably get into trouble for letting you bond now.”

“Please.” Eddie’s crying, “Please- you know. You _remember_ -“ _What I was like, how broken I was without him._

“Yes.” And she slides the top free and black pours over in a rush like a pot boiling over and- and-

And Nebula just stands there, watching as he shudders and cries and screams as his exhausted, shattered body struggles through bonding for the third time. His muscles feel like he’s been through a three hour workout. His skin is so raw, it’s as though it was scrubbed with sandpaper. He cries out, wild and animalistic as Venom pushes through the last few layers surrounding his brain and-

And it all stops.

His body slumps limp against the bed, relaxing as Venom works through him, easing every taut muscle, every aching bone. Eddie sucks in a breath; tastes his own tears. Another. Another. He focuses on breathing until Venom reaches his lungs, and then that’s all him too, squeezing Eddie’s heart to beat it, filling his breath, pushing blood and sparking through his nerve tissues.

“Vee.” Eddie whispers.

 ** _Yes_**. It’s weak and exhausted and _oh_ , it hurts. He’s touching every part of Eddie he can reach, cataloguing him again and again to convince himself Eddie’s _here_.

“Safe.” Eddie breathes.

There is no answer, just a shudder that feels like a sob. Because- Venom had never lived through losing Eddie before. He’d woken alone in the tank, not sure if he had gone back _again_ , or if it was true this time, and Eddie was _gone._ It had taken long, endless eternities before he’d realised Eddie was there, beside him.

**_No. Not again. Never._ **

“No.” Eddie smiles. “Can we- just- never again. I can’t- can you make sure-“

A pause. **_Yes._**

There’s a sensation of something _pulling_ , inside him, the feel of something popping in his back, a brief flash of blinding pain before Venom chokes it off. Then a push inside Venom, parts of him lashing to the base of Eddie’s skull, surrounding his heart, down to the bottom of his spine. **_Always with you._**

Eddie exhales and dear God the _relief_. He’d lost Venom twice now, there wouldn’t be a third time. They will no longer be just him, never the hollow _nothing_ inside him again; the memories wearing thin and flaking away like ash, forgetting Venom’s touch, forgetting his voice.

 ** _No, shhh. Here._**  

Eddie blinks, swallows. Nebula is holding his hand, smiling.

Nebula. Stark. _Strange_.

“The gem-“

“Gone.” Nebula says firmly. “You stopped it, and when the world was stable, I destroyed the stone.” She turns Eddie’s hand over. “That was my fault. You wouldn’t let go of the stone.”

His hands are wrapped in bandages, faintly spotted with blood. Eddie tries to close his hands and his fingers don’t move properly. Venom pushes up over his hands and knits the tendons back together, the pain fading-

“No.” Eddie smiles. Not yet. He wants to enjoy this. He wants the reminder of what they’ve done. “Thank you.”

“Thank you.” Nebula returns, softly. “You were very brave.”

“No.” Eddie closes his eyes. “Not brave, just-“ he isn’t sure. What do you call saving the world because it will end if you don’t? The world, every world.

 ** _Yes,_** Venom says firmly. **_The bravest. Shut up Eddie._**

“Can’t talk to me like that, ‘f I’m a hero.”

**_We will. Until you accept it. A hero. And now everyone knows._ **

Eddie opens his eyes. “Who knows-“

And his question is answered when Tony walks in. He looks from Eddie, to Nebula, to the empty tank where Venom was, and sighs. “Bruce isn’t going to happy; he wanted to run some tests first.”

“ ** _Fuck that_**.” Venom and Eddie speak together.

Tony grins. “Yeah, I told him to expect that.” He walks over and pushes a stack of papers to Eddie. “Can you hold a pen?”

“What’s this?” Eddie tries to prop himself on the pillows, Venom wraps tentacles around the bedstead and pulls them up until they’re sitting.

“Citizenship papers.” Eddie’s breath catches, and he blinks back fresh tears. _Oh, oh darling._

 ** _Yes. We can have this._** The tentacles don’t go back inside him, wrap around him instead in a tight, warming hug. **_“We can have everything.”_** His head rests on Eddie’s shoulder.

Eddie leans into him, turns and presses a kiss to Venom’s sharp, loving mouth. Kissing and kissing and Venom opens his mouth and kisses back until Eddie’s _drowning_ in him, soaking through his mouth and the tongue down his throat and _mine mine mine-_

“The longer you make out, the longer it takes to process the paperwork.”

Tony prods him, and Eddie reluctantly breaks the kiss, pulling Venom close around him as they look down at the papers. _This is to certify that the above applicant **Venom** is to be considered a permanent citizen of planet Earth._

Eddie picks up the pen. Looks down at the bottom of the page. There’s a space to sign their name, and beside it, the signature of the witnessing attorney- _Anne Waying_.

Eddie closes his eyes as Venom wraps around his arm and guides the pen down to the paper. When everything broke, he couldn’t put it back together, not fully. But this time, it was them, and they did it. They did it and the world opens up wide and welcoming before them.

The pen scratches on the page, Venom nuzzles Eddie’s cheek. **_I love you so much._**

_Love you forever._

 


End file.
